Gifts and Curses
by CartoonJessie
Summary: BatB with a twist. Belle has to make a stop at a mysterious castle in the woods. With the enchanted household too eager to make her stay and a master that has accepted his beastly form, Belle soon finds herself intrigued with the cursed prince.
1. Drawing Memories

**Summary:** BatB with a twist. (12 ) On her way to Florence, Belle finds herself forced to stop at a mysterious castle in the woods. With the enchanted household too eager to keep her there and a master who has come to an odd sort of acceptance of his beastly form, Belle soon finds herself intrigued by the cursed prince.

**Word from the author:** _First of all I'd like to thank you all for taking the time to check out my take on Beauty and the Beast. Though this story is Alternate Universe and written for a slightly more mature audience, it is still the Disney characters that are the base for the characters in this story. Though you will find they have come upon slightly different situations in their lives and have developed in slightly different ways than we know of in the movie, I want you to feel that, despite all of that, they're still the characters we all love.  
As for the title of the story, Gifts and Curses, I have to say that it is actually a song title. The original song is by Yellowcard and it is gorgeous. The song might be a bit too emo for the story I want to tell, but it is still a work in progress so who knows how this story will develop?  
I also mustn't forget to thank TrudiRose for beta'ing this story. Without her the number of errors in this fanfic would be countless! (Aye, I'm Belgian, not English!) Trudi, you rock!  
I'd like to thank you in advance for reading the story and I hope you'll enjoy it!  
Jessie_

**Gifts and Curses**

**Chapter 1: Drawing Memories**

The sky was painted in beautiful hues of red and orange clouds that blended in with the distant autumn-colored trees. The high grass that stood in the field in front of her waved gently from side to side as the last southern wind of the season warmed Belle.

She sat on the fence quietly, a sketchbook in hand, the charcoal slowly setting everything she saw in front of her on paper. It soothed her doing this, even though she was no experienced artist. It was an important evening for her, an important day in her life at Molyneaux. And for once it didn't feel so bad to be there.

Gaston raced through the forest, his steed galloping as quickly as it could over the forest paths. He felt extremely excited, for it was the evening before the official start of hunting season. Gaston had already spent the past few weeks scouting the forests surrounding Molyneaux, seeing many young rabbits, foxes and deer he was eager on bringing home to the other villagers. But today he had finally spotted his ultimate goal for this hunting season: a beautiful stag with the widest and most beautiful antlers Gaston had ever laid eyes upon.

The sight of the stag had thrilled him so much nothing was going to get his spirits down. It would be his biggest trophy this hunting season and nobody was going to keep him from killing it. Because he was the best hunter in town and nobody was ever going to be the better of him.

As he left the shade of the forests and raced past the fields outside of Molyneaux, Gaston appreciated the sun's warmth and glow on this beautiful evening. And a sight he saw across one of the fields only warmed his spirits more.

As Belle drew more lines and curls in the trees she had sketched, she suddenly heard the trampling of hoofs approaching. Turning her head around slightly, she saw Gaston riding closer rapidly, probably in an attempt to show off his amazing… _amazingness_. Every single village girl would have swooned at the beautiful sight of the handsome young man riding his steed, his dark black hair waving in the wind, his arms glistening with the sweat from the exciting ride and his muscles standing out in the shirt that was just a size too tight for him. Belle, however, had some problem or other with her perception of things, or so the other villagers thought. She was more disgusted by Gaston than anything else, though that disgust didn't mean she treated him badly. She just found herself praying that Gaston wouldn't notice her on far too many occasions. This occasion being one of them…

"Belle!" Gaston said merrily as he approached her and came to a halt. "What a coincidence to find you here!"

Belle figured it was useless to pretend she hadn't seen him. She didn't get up from the fence where she was sitting and only turned slightly to face him. "Good evening, Gaston," she greeted him politely.

Gaston jumped off his horse and casually walked closer, his thumbs behind his belt as he puffed his chest forward. "What brings you here?" he wondered out loud. "There aren't any books hidden in this landscape, are there?"

Gaston laughed at his own attempt at a joke, then noticed the book on her lap.

"Ah there's one," he said quietly, smiling at her gently, though he was unsure what else he could say. Talking about books in her presence had been the origin of many arguments between them. He just couldn't understand it. He didn't like those arguments much. After all, he _was_ interested in marrying Belle one day. It wasn't his wish to push her away from him.

"Yeah," Belle said softly, looking at the drawing of the scenery. She didn't know what else to say. As repulsive as she found Gaston to be at times, it wasn't her wish to fight him. Talking about books wasn't one of the things she liked to do with Gaston. His lack of brain cells only aggravated her at those moments. Besides, this was the last time she would have to see him in a very long time. She could at least be kind to him.

Gaston walked to the fence and put his arms on the wood, looking at the sight before him. It was breath-taking around this time of year. He could see flocks of geese fly over the distant woods, the stream running a mile away was full of life and the sky and clouds were beautiful. There was no place like home to Gaston. But he knew that it wasn't enough for Belle. He couldn't understand it, but he had accepted it. Gaston figured there had to be something very wrong with her eyes. Perhaps she just needed glasses, but he had thought of it to be impolite to even suggest that.

He couldn't help giving a peek at the book on Belle's lap and noticed the charcoal in her hands and the drawing on the page. "Hey, it's a drawing!" Gaston said cheerfully, glad for once that Belle wasn't _reading_. Gaston took the book from her lap, not even noticing that she wasn't keen on having him take a look. He leaned with his back against the fence, looked at the drawing and then laughed. "Hey this is nice! It's the view from the fence!"

Gaston looked from the drawing to the landscape and had no trouble seeing the similarities. "This is better than something_ I_ could draw!"

Belle's eyes widened. _Hold on._ Had he just admitted he wasn't good at _everything_ he did?

Gaston frowned. Had he just admitted there was something he _couldn't_ do as well?

"Thank you, Gaston," Belle smiled politely, holding out her hand for him to give it back, but he was already flipping back the pages.

"This is your house! And this is your father! Who's that here? Oh wait, it's the librarian. Yeah I don't see much of that guy," Gaston muttered as he checked out the drawings she had made. Everything she had drawn, Gaston knew from the town. The baker, the hairdresser, even the triplets were in there. Though the drawings weren't as good as the paintings of Gaston that hung in the tavern, he found them recognizable enough and he had to give her credit for trying. "Why did you draw all that?" he asked her, handing back the sketchbook. "I didn't know you liked to draw."

"I don't. Well, I mean, I don't mind," Belle quickly corrected herself. "I don't like it as much as _reading_." Gaston's look already seemed to be turning into a face of disgust and Belle quickly went on. "It's just that I'm leaving tomorrow. For a long time, most likely. And there are things I just wouldn't want to forget. Or things I'd want to show to the other people in Florence."

Gaston sighed. He couldn't believe she'd rather go to_ Spain_ than stay in Molyneaux. Then another thought struck him.

"Hey, hold on! You haven't drawn _me_ yet!"

Belle blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah!" Gaston said, outraged by the thought she had forgotten him. "Do you want to forget me then? Or don't you want to talk about me to _other_ people? I've accomplished a lot more than the baker or the librarian, you know! Talking about me would be a much more interesting story! People would hang on your every word! Don't tell me you're not going to tell them all the great hunter stories about me I told you in the tavern last week?"

Belle turned red. _Awkward_.

True, she had gone to the tavern with him. But the only reason she had done that was to ensure that Gaston would take her father to the end-of-autumn fair and he had agreed to that! Without Philippe, her father wouldn't have a means of transportation. And she trusted Gaston well enough to know he would bring him there and return him safe and sound. Besides, Gaston was already looking forward to the idea of participating in all of the hunting games they would be holding there. And it would be her father's chance to win a prize with his latest invention.

"It's just…" Belle's brain raced in a desperate attempt to find a good excuse. Anything to keep him from posing. "I wouldn't be able to do you _justice_!"

Gaston laughed heartily. "Now, now, Belle! Even though that's true, don't let it hold you back!" Gaston took a few steps back and put his hands in his side, posing.

He had to be kidding her. Belle had run out of ideas and sighing deeply, she turned to a new page.

Gaston heard her sigh and knew she was swooning at what she saw. _Finally_.

Belle had only drawn a few lines, when Gaston's voice already cut in: "So Belle, are you going to miss me?"

Avoiding the question, Belle lied innocently: "Gaston, I can't… talk and draw at the same time."

Gaston could relate to that and quickly nodded. "Oh, right!"

Gaston continued posing. Belle had to admit one thing as she eyed him: he definitely was beaming with pride. She had never known anyone that was as happy with himself as Gaston was. It was unreal.

By the time Belle was finished, the sun had nearly set and she jumped down the fence. "Done!" she said, sighing again.

Gaston finally moved again and hurried over to her side, eyeing the picture. He gasped with joy. "Belle, I am perfect! You outdid me!" Gaston stared at the picture, seeming very much in love with himself, and Belle couldn't help but laugh. She had to admit he could be cute sometimes. _Cute in his own obnoxious way. _

Gaston saw her laugh and gave her back her sketchbook, glad she was warming up to him.

Before he could say anything, Belle cut in. "I have to get back home. It is getting dark."

It was only a mile to Belle's home, yet Gaston didn't like the idea of letting her go alone. He went over to where his horse was standing and took the reigns. "Come on, hop on! I'll give you a ride! You'll be there in no time!"

Belle felt rather awkward thinking of the idea of sitting on a horse with Gaston. She found it… improper. He wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer though, unless… "How about we just take a walk?" she suggested instead. "I'd like to stretch my legs."

Gaston frowned at Belle's lame excuse. Then it suddenly dawned on him: walking took longer. It was just a way of her to be in his company for a longer period of time! And who had ever said that women were hard to understand?

Smiling, Gaston agreed. "Of course! Walking is fine!"

As they walked besides each other, an awkward silence followed. Gaston tried his hardest to come up with something to talk about that she could relate to. The weather perhaps?

"I've heard it's quite warm in Spain," he said, trying to sound impressive.

Belle frowned. Why did Gaston want to talk about the weather in Spain? Then she realized… "I'm going to Italy, Gaston," she corrected him.

Gaston seemed very confused. "Oh you're not going to Florence then?"

Belle tried her hardest not to start laughing. "No, Gaston. Florence is a city in Italy. Not in Spain."

Gaston felt slightly embarrassed. It wasn't easy talking with Belle.

"But yes, the weather is quite warm there," Belle smiled at him. She had to give him credit for trying to impress her.

"And your great-great-aunt is a nice woman?" he asked her, struggling to sound genuinely interested.

"Just my great-aunt," Belle corrected him. "And I don't know really… I hope so! I've never met her before. It's just that she's getting old and has no other family to take care of her. We received some letters from one of the town's nuns. My great-aunt would have written the letters herself, but apparently her hands tremble too much or something. The nuns take care of her at the moment, but they don't know how much longer she has yet to live." Belle sighed sadly. "It could be another month, another year, perhaps another ten years. They just think it's best if she has some family around her. She speaks both French and Italian, but sometimes she only talks French, or so the nuns wrote. They have trouble understanding her."

Gaston gulped, no longer taking in those last sentences. _Ten years without Belle?_ He wasn't going to wait that long for her! Yet he tried to cheer up. "But hey, if she dies before you arrive, you'll be back _really_ quickly, right?" he asked happily.

Belle frowned. "Gaston, that's disrespectful!"

Gaston quickly lowered his head, much like a pup that had been scolded. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Even if it was disrespectful, it had humored Belle and she smiled.

As they approached her house, Belle embraced the sketchbook as she faced Gaston. "Thank you for escorting me home, Gaston," she smiled awkwardly.

Now it was time for goodbyes. She didn't know how to say goodbye to him though. He was just going to laugh at her if she offered him a hand. But if she gave him a hug, she feared she wasn't going to be able to break free from it.

Instead, she took her skirt in her hand and bowed gracefully. "Take good care of yourself, Gaston. I wish you all the best."

Gaston frowned. What on earth had she just done? "What are you, a princess or something?" he laughed. What an odd way to say goodbye to someone! "Any other girl would have given me a kiss on the cheek or on…"

Gaston quickly shut up. The lips sounded good, yes, but it would be very improper to suggest that. Not that he was going to complain if she decided to go for the lips!

Belle looked troubled. She really didn't want to do this. _Better get it over with._

Quickly, she walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek, before quickly turning around and hurrying towards the door, waving.

"Bye Gaston!"

A kiss on the cheek… Gaston frowned. _Disappointing._

"Bye Belle!" he said, thinking hard as the door slammed shut again and Belle had disappeared inside.

Well… She wasn't really gone _yet_, was she? He still had a chance tomorrow… Yes, tomorrow would be even brighter! He would land that kiss _and_ get that new trophy for the tavern. Tomorrow was going to be perfect.


	2. Goodbyes and Hellos

**Word from the author: **_I would like to thank all of you that have left a comment, gave this story a fav or added it to the fanfic alert. It feels like a warm welcome and for that I am grateful! _

_Please, do not hesitate to let me know what you're thinking about the story (be that good or bad). I'm always interested in the reading experience and can't wait for your input._

_Jessie_

* * *

**Chapter 2: Goodbyes and Hellos**

The first light of day shone upon the peaceful town of Molyneaux and Maurice found himself strapping Belle's bags to the saddle on Philippe's back. Philippe couldn't help but wonder why Maurice had called him up and out before dawn. He had no idea of the journey that lay in store for Belle and him.

Maurice wiped a tear from his eye as he heard the door open and turned around to see Belle skip down the stairs, her dark-blue cape fluttering as she came down. She looked absolutely radiant and had never looked more like the image of her mother than today.

"Will you be all right?" he asked gently, averting his eyes because he feared he would show too much weakness.

"Yes, Papa," Belle said as she embraced him. "I'll be by the harbor at midnight - that is, if Philippe doesn't let me down." She smiled as she broke free from the embrace, took a carrot out of her skirt and fed it to Philippe. This made Philippe grow suspicious. What venture would they undertake that it was worthy of carrots?

"Well, if Philippe grows tired or you grow tired or if it's bad weather, stop at a tavern and spend the night there. I'd rather have you travel safely than quickly. The boat won't leave until noon tomorrow."

Maurice took a little sachet out of his bag and gave it to Belle. As Belle held the sachet in her hand, she realized it had money in it. "But Papa, I've already got the money I need in my bag…"

"I know," Maurice quickly said. "But just in case you need to rest at a tavern or elsewhere. I don't want you taking any risks. It's a dangerous world out there. A beautiful world too, but dangerous at the same time. Don't forget that! And be on your guard around strangers!"

Belle smiled. She was going to miss her father, even if he was a little overprotective at times. "I'll be fine! And once I'm on the ship, the next stop will be Florence!" she tried to reassure him.

"Yes, about the ship… Belle, I need to tell you something about these sailors… It's not the most expensive ship you're sailing with, therefore I don't want you to expect the most refined of sailors on it. Whatever you do, do not fall for the charms of one just because he is wearing a uniform, I know this…"

Belle laughed before she interrupted her father. "Papa, please. Do you honestly think I'd fall for the charms of a _sailor_? He'd have to be _really _charming. _And_ clever. No, if you ask me, if I am to fall for _anyone_'s charms, it might be for those of a handsome Italian scholar in Florence, the capital of art and culture!"

Belle said this with such a longing sigh that Maurice couldn't help but chuckle. "You sound just like your mother, dearest."

Belle embraced him again. "Or I might bring back a little, chubby and hairy inventor!"

Maurice chuckled once more. "I can get the little and chubby, but surely I'm not _that_ hairy?"

"Well who says my prince charming won't be hairy, papa? For they say love is unpredictable, don't they?" Belle grinned at Maurice, but her grin vanished suddenly when she saw something, or rather someone, coming down the road on his giant black steed.

"Talking about hairy…" she muttered quietly to her father as Gaston approached, loaded with hunting equipment and wearing a fancy cape and hat.

Belle quickly hugged her father and jumped on Philippe. If she was sitting on Philippe, she wouldn't have to go over to Gaston and hug or kiss him or anything.

"Good morning Belle! Maurice!" Gaston greeted them cheerfully.

"Good morning, Gaston!" Maurice replied to the strong man, looking at him with curious eyes. Like most of the other villagers, Maurice had a great deal of respect for Gaston. Besides, Gaston was going to help him get to the end-of-autumn fair in a few months. He truly was a magnificent man.

"Morning." Belle smiled as she greeted him softly. "Are you ready for the hunt?"

"Yes," Gaston replied, pleased that she had remembered the hunt would start today. Or perhaps the hunting equipment had given it away? "We're gathering in about fifteen minutes at Joseph's farm. I decided it would only be appropriate to come and say goodbye to you first."

Gaston suddenly noticed Belle was sitting on Philippe already. _Darn it._ That would make it rather awkward to give her a kiss.

"Oh! And I mustn't forget," he suddenly remembered as he untied something from his saddle.

Belle and Maurice looked curiously to see what he was getting, for it hung on the other side of his horse. Suddenly Gaston shoved a large portrait of himself into Belle's hands.

"This is for you! As delightful as your sketch of me was, I thought you deserved a picture of me in color. For a keepsake."

Belle looked at the painting in disbelief. It was one of the paintings that always hung in the tavern. And it was quite a big one too.

"This way you can hang me in your room and look at me whenever you…" Gaston suddenly stopped mid-sentence and added: "Well, whenever."

"Thank you, you shouldn't have," Belle said honestly. _Really_. She frowned as she realized something. "It won't fit in any of my bags though."

Gaston grinned as he jumped off his horse, holding a piece of rope in his hands.

"That's okay! I can tie it to the saddle. It has some hooks on the back!" He took the liberty of tying the painting onto the saddle. "Let's just hope it doesn't rain, hey?" he said cheerfully.

Maurice couldn't help but chuckle at Gaston's kind nature. But he also couldn't help noticing that Belle was very uncomfortable with the hunter's affections. It saddened him a little bit that Belle couldn't just accept a strong, handsome man like Gaston, but on the other hand it made him feel a little proud that he had raised Belle to be such an intelligent and beautiful daughter that she wouldn't settle for anything less than she was worthy of.

Belle was less than thrilled with the prospect of riding across France and Italy with a painting of Gaston tied to her horse's back. Perhaps she would be able to wrap it up in a dress later on, when they were far from Molyneaux.

"I'd best get going," Belle said, bravely taking a deep breath. "The day isn't getting any younger."

"Hey, you're passing by Joseph's farm, right? I'll ride with you until there. It will just be a few minutes," Gaston suggested.

While Gaston mounted his horse again, Maurice took his daughter's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Take care of yourself, Belle," he said gently, tears in his eyes.

"I'll miss you," she said honestly, tears coming to her eyes as well. "Goodbye, Papa."

Her father nodded to her and Belle turned Phillip around as they trotted away. Belle didn't look back as tears rolled over her cheeks.

Gaston made his horse trot besides Philippe and saw her tears. He looked back at the old man and waved. Maurice raised his hand, feeling a little unsure and heartbroken at watching his daughter leave for only God-knew-how-long.

Gaston turned back to Belle, feeling a little sad that she was crying. "Don't cry," he tried to soothe her. "It's making me uncomfortable."

Belle couldn't help but laugh when she heard that. It was _so_ like Gaston to say something like that. She quickly wiped her tears away and tried to cheer up. After all, she wouldn't have to bother with Gaston for months the moment they passed Joseph's farm. That had to cheer her up a little bit.

Gaston was glad to see Belle smiling again, yet, like Maurice, he was also a little worried.

"Look, Belle, I want you to promise me you'll stay on the main paths in the forest. Don't wander off to creeks or anything else. The forests will be swarmed with hunters _everywhere_. If you diverge from the paths, they might mistake you for prey. Granted, you shouldn't be in too much of a danger. Experienced hunters, such as myself, don't waste bullets unless we know _what_ we're shooting at. But even so, a stray bullet from an inexperienced hunter _unlike_ myself could be dangerous, so stay on the forest path."

"Don't worry Gaston, I will." Belle smiled, touched by his concern. "I wish you the best of luck in the hunt. I'm sure you'll be able to get something impressive to put amongst your trophies."

"Yes, I'm sure of that too!" Gaston smiled back. "I've got the perfect trophy in mind already: a magnificent stag with more points than anyone has ever seen!"

Belle frowned. For once, it seemed like she didn't understand Gaston's vocabulary. "Points?" she repeated.

"Oh, yes!" Gaston said happily, beaming with proud that he knew something Belle didn't. "The points are the sharp pointy tips on an antler. A little antler only has a few points, a big antler can have up to over a dozen points! I think this one had about sixteen. I saw him yesterday already, but he darted off before I had been able to count the points."

On one hand, Belle had to admit that it sounded quite dreamily to hear Gaston talk about stags like that, watching them in their natural surroundings, counting their points, admiring their beauty… But on the other hand it disturbed Belle that Gaston would hunt and kill such a beautiful creature to hang it on the tavern's wall. She could understand killing for meat. But why did they have to bring down the noblest of creatures too? The kings of the forest? Their entire herd would suffer from the absence of its strongest leader. It just seemed cruel to Belle. And that was why she could never be anything _more_ to Gaston. Nor did she want Gaston to be anything _more_ either. He was fine the way he was, he just wasn't cut out for her.

They approached the farm as they saw other men on horses in front of them on the road. Belle spotted something small on the road ahead of them. "Is LeFou riding a donkey?" she wondered.

Gaston laughed. "Yeah! What's even funnier is that he thinks he can keep up with us like that!" Gaston seemed to be having a blast thinking that. Belle thought it was a little cruel to the small guy. After all, Gaston meant the world to LeFou and LeFou would never laugh at Gaston's misfortune.

"Well, this is where we say goodbye, Gaston," Belle said happily as they arrived at the road that would lead Gaston to the farm.

Gaston frowned. He felt a little confused that Belle was so cheerful now, though she had been crying when saying goodbye to her father… Gaston tried to raise his spirits by reassuring himself that the reason she was smiling was because he was so much funnier than her father.

"Yes, that we do!" he said as they came to a halt. He felt a little odd. A part of him wished he could attach Belle to himself, so she couldn't leave him. But that wasn't the way life seemed to work. "I'll miss you," he said suddenly. "You are a great listener."

That wasn't rare, though. The entire town was full of great listeners. The fact simply was that he was just very good at telling stories.

"Thank you Gaston. You are a lot of fun to talk with." _Sometimes, anyways. _

Belle rode on. "Goodbye Gaston! We'll see each other again!"

Gaston nodded bravely. He heard the men at the farm cheering, getting ready for the start of the hunt. He had to do this. "Goodbye Belle…" He sounded a little sad, but then he suddenly turned his horse and rode off to the farm, leaving Belle to go her own way.

* * *

As Belle sat on Philippe, who trotted through the forest, she looked around her. Leaves were turning red, brown and yellow and it made for a stunning view. Belle had been gazing at her surroundings all day already and she hadn't had the fortune to see more than the forest yet, but it was so beautiful that she knew she wasn't going to get bored of it yet.

"I think we must be about halfway there, Philippe!" Belle said cheerfully as she gazed up at the sun. It had to be between two and three in the afternoon, judging on the position of the sun. "We'll rest in an hour. I need to stretch my legs."

Belle suddenly looked up. The forest was changing. In a very odd way.

On the left side, the trees were beautifully colored and the forest was alive. But on the right side, all the branches were bare and most of the trees looked entirely black, even in the sun. Even Philippe slowed down as they passed by the scary forest.

"Spooky," Belle whispered as she noticed a giant spider in a spider web between the lifeless branches. In the distance, she imagined she heard a wolf howl, even though it was still day. "I thought wolves were creatures of the night…" she muttered quietly to herself.

She urged Philippe to trot on. The moment they had left that scary forest behind them, they could take a break.

A little further ahead, on the peaceful side of the forest, two brothers were sneaking through the forest, trying to remain as silent as possible but they couldn't help but snap some branches and scare all the woodland creatures away.

"Adrien, quiet, you just snapped another one!"

Adrien mumbled an excuse as he walked closer to his older brother Anatole. Anatole was fifteen, two years older than Adrien and next year he would have the chance to go hunting with the men of the nearby town. Still, waiting until next year wasn't good enough, so Anatole had dragged his younger brother along with him into the forest and they weren't going home until they had killed _something_, even if it was just a rabbit.

"I hear something," Anatole hissed, lifting his father's old gun. "There's an animal nearby! Quiet!"

Adrien hadn't been able to find a gun to take with him. Instead he carried a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back. He prepared for the shot as well, though he didn't see anything approaching.

Anatole led the way through the forest, sneaking quietly in between the trees, eyeing everything around him with the gun pressed against his nose. And then he saw it: a flash of brown, white and sandy yellow in between the trees. He had a good aim and shot. Adrien had seen the same and his arrow flew through the forest, not missing his target.

The instant the bullet and arrow hit, the boys cheered, but their voices stopped abruptly when they heard the distressed whinnying of a horse.

"Philippe!" Belle tried to calm her horse as it stood on its hind legs, almost knocking her off. "Philippe, calm down!" she cried out in despair as she tried to look for the spot where Philippe had been hit.

Anatole and Adrien were rooted fast to the earth, unable to move as they realized the mistake they had made. It was Adrien that was the first to hurry forward, to the voice of the lady and the sound of the panicking horse.

Philippe was in pain, in much pain. A bullet had hit him in the hind leg and as he stood on those legs, he noticed it wasn't going to relieve the pain. The arrow hadn't hurt him that badly. It had pierced the painting of Gaston, but it had still left a painful mark on the horse's butt.

Unable to contain his pain, Philippe started jumping around wildly, forgetting all sense of direction as he hurried off into the dark forest, not even able to hear his instincts call out to go the other way.

"Philippe! Ho!"

Anatole and Adrien reached the path to see a horse dart off with a lady on its back. They didn't dare to call out as the horse and rider left their sight. They suddenly shivered as a cold breeze washed over their bodies that stood motionless on the damp forest path.

"We hit a horse!" Adrien said, horrified at what they had done.

"There was a lady on there!" Anatole said, stepping into the dark forest, but Adrien's hand prevented him from stepping any further as he took Anatole's arm.

"Don't go in there," Adrien whispered in a scared voice. "Evil spirits roam there."

"But the lady!" the older brother bit back. "We can't leave her!"

Adrien shook his head slightly.

"We can't go in that part of the forest. She's at the mercy of the Enchantress now."

Anatole sighed deeply. His younger brother was right. It was foolish to go into that forest. It was the territory of the Enchantress. All creatures in that forest were cursed: the bats, wolves and spiders were of the nastiest kind. He'd have to be crazy to go in there.

"You're right," Anatole said bravely. "But we can't tell mum or dad about this. If we do, we're dead."

Adrien nodded, a grim expression on his face. He quickly said a little prayer for the lady and her horse, hoping they'd be alright.

Anatole folded his hands for a second and did the same. After that, they quickly ran down the path, on their way back home.

* * *

Belle was aching everywhere by the time Philippe finally seemed to calm down a little bit. He had ridden her around like mad, bucking and rearing, and Belle could swear there had been at least a dozen times she could have fallen off. She was quite positive she had lost her belongings along the way, but hadn't been able to turn around and check yet.

The moment she had the chance, she jumped off onto the forest ground and circled Philippe carefully. The arrow was broken off for the largest part, but a few inches still stuck in one of the horse's buttocks and Belle distanced herself from Philippe as much as she could as she stretched out her arm and pulled out the arrow with a quick yank.

Philippe whinnied in pain as the wound gushed with blood and he turned around, looking at her angrily, but Belle quickly took the reins and tried to sooth him, taking another carrot out of her apron to feed it to him. She would like to put a bandage or something of the sort on his wounds, but she didn't have anything to use.

Belle was thankful that the horse ate it and suddenly noticed that Philippe was losing blood from one of his hind legs.

"We must get help," Belle said, trying to remain calm as she heard another wolf howl in the distance. "Quickly."

Belle looked around in the bare forest, when she saw something in between the distant trees. It looked like a wall and Belle led Philippe to it, attempting to sooth her friend with hushing sounds and kind words.

It wasn't long before the dark wall led them to the gate of a gigantic and spooky-looking castle. Belle gulped as she tried to open the gate, but it seemed shut.

"Please!" she called out as loudly as she could. "My horse got shot! I need help!"

Belle sighed as she realized that the castle itself was too far from the gate for anyone to hear when suddenly the gate screeched open on its own.

Belle was confused. "Strange… I thought it was locked," she muttered to herself, leading Philippe through the gate that immediately shut again the moment they were inside.

Philippe noticed something odd was going on. Gates didn't shut on their own. The horse was growing very suspicious and trembled as he and Belle passed gigantic statues shaped like monstrous gargoyles. This fear, combined with the loss of blood, suddenly caused the horse to black out.

Belle was just in time to jump back as Philippe fell to her side.

"Philippe!"

Belle hurried to her horse, untying the saddle. It was scary to see a horse drop to the ground like that. Only one bag had remained tied to her saddle. Gaston's painting and the other bag were lost in the forest.

Taking the bag with her and feeling her apron for the sachet of money her father had given her, Belle ran to the entrance of the castle. She didn't have time to take in the scary statues of gargoyles that were all around her in the path to the main door of the castle.

She knocked quickly and as hard as she could, nearly banging her fists, but she was too impatient to wait for someone to open the door. She couldn't afford to lose Philippe.

"Hello?" she said quietly, pushing the door open and letting her eyes adjust to the darkness in the entrance hall. She looked around in the emptiness. There seemed to be nobody around.

"Hello?" she called out again, this time a lot louder. "I am sorry to disturb you, but I need help!" Belle stepped forward in the hall, watching her shadow grow large in the pale light of a flickering candle. "Is anybody here?"

Belle gulped. It freaked her out a little that there was this huge castle in the middle of the dark forest and now it seemed to be deserted. Or even worse… haunted!

"Hello?"

A child's voice suddenly echoed a hello through the corridors. It seemed to be a young boy's voice and Belle looked around.

"Yes, hello, I'm in the entrance hall!" Belle called out, unsure to where the voice had come from. She suddenly heard an eerie clicking sound. She didn't know what this sound meant and gulped, fearing whatever was approaching.

From the side corridor, a little teacup named Chip was hopping cheerfully through the hallway, heading to the soft woman's voice he had heard.

"Hello!" he called out happily, delighted to see a girl standing near the door. He had never seen one before in his life! "What are you doing here?"

Belle could swear she heard a child, but where was he hiding?

"I'm over here!" Chip called out again, hopping closer to Belle until he was only a few meters away from her.

It was then that Belle noticed a little talking teacup staring at her. She gasped as she took a few steps back, her mind too numb to come up with anything to say until she suddenly heard an elderly woman's voice.

"Chip, where are you?"

"I'm over here, Mama!" the little teacup called out happily. "Mama, you won't believe it! There's a girl in the castle!"

Belle heard some other sort of china hopping closer.

"Chip, I told you a hundred times you shouldn't make up stories like that!"

Belle suddenly saw whom the voice belonged to as a larger teapot came down the same corridor.

"Oh my…" Mrs. Potts gasped as she saw Belle. There _was_ a girl in the entrance hall. "Dear child, what are you doing here?" Mrs. Potts asked in her most concerned voice as she jumped closer. She didn't wait for Belle to reply before she swiftly ordered: "Chip, go get Lumière and Cogsworth. Now!"

Chip didn't seem fond of the idea of leaving the girl, but he turned around anyways and hopped back the way he had come as quickly as he could.

"Child, you are trembling!" Mrs. Potts noticed.

Belle nodded weakly. Was she dreaming? A talking porcelain set? "Yes… I…" Belle gulped. She was talking to china! _Get a grip!_ "I – my horse!"

"Your horse?" Mrs. Potts replied to the girl that seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Yes! Philippe!" Belle slowly found her voice again as her brain was starting to calm down. "He got shot! He's bleeding! I need help!" When Belle had finished talking, she couldn't help but gaze at the teapot with her mouth open.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Potts said again, thinking hard before she suddenly hopped to two armors that stood quietly against the walls. "Get the stable master immediately! And get Vincent! The girl's horse got shot."

"Twice," Belle quickly added. "Once by a bullet and once by an arrow!"

Belle quickly took another step backward as the two armors suddenly stepped of their pedestals and marched passed her, to the door. Belle didn't dare to speak until they were outside.

"Who's Vincent?" Belle asked the teapot.

"He's a pair of tweezers," Mrs. Potts replied casually. "Though 'pair' is the wrong word, I suppose. There's just one of him."

Belle frowned. Why would anyone give their tweezers a name? Though, if it were _talking_ tweezers… It made sense. Sort of.

Mrs. Potts hopped towards the corridor she had come from and softly turned to face Belle.

"Follow me, dear, we'll get you something to drink while your horse is being taken care of."

Belle hesitated as she followed the teapot through the corridor.

"I… Thank you for the offer," she kindly declined Mrs. Potts' request. "But I should be with Philippe."

"Nonsense, we'll take good care of him, don't worry!" Mrs. Potts smiled warmly. "You look a little stressed yourself. A cup of tea will do you good!"

* * *

In the meanwhile, Cogsworth, Lumière and Chip were hurrying through the dark corridors of the castle.

"Is she pretty?" Lumière asked, his voice sounding very curious while his heart danced with joy at the news Chip had just brought them.

"Yes!" Chip replied. "I think so, but… I don't know any other girls so I don't really know."

"Hmm… True…" Lumière muttered darkly, imagining that a hideous girl had come to their doorstep. "Perhaps I'm being too optimistic."

"You're always too optimistic," Cogsworth interrupted him. "Even if she _were_ the most beautiful girl any of us had ever seen, that wouldn't mean the master would feel the same way… And getting _her_ to fall in love would not be easy either. He doesn't exactly have the most warm, mature and agreeable nature around."

"He's not as cold as he used to be," Lumière contradicted the British clock. "He's probably just lonely and in need of a friend."

"_Optimist_," Cogsworth sneered back as though it was some sort of insult. "The only friend he could use is the type that likes being scared to death, over and over and over again!"

Chip tripped as he was jumping and rolled over the floor, laughing with Cogsworth's statement. _It was so true!_

"Quiet!" Lumière whispered. "I hear voices!"

* * *

"My name is Belle," Belle introduced herself to the teapot that had just introduced herself as Mrs. Potts. "I am on my way to Florence. Or rather… I was… I just hope Philippe will be alright!"

The door swung open and Lumière, Cogsworth and Chip looked inside. Belle was sitting in a chair in front of the fire, her hands trembling a little bit as they lay folded in her lap. A bag stood besides the chair. Mrs. Potts turned as her colleagues entered.

Lumière's mouth dropped as he laid eyes upon Belle's beauty and his optimism reached a level it hadn't reached in seven years. _This was the girl!_

"Mademoiselle!" he cried as he hurried closer, holding out his hand. "What a delightful pleasure to have you here!"

Belle stared at the candelabra as it appeared to want to shake her hand or something. She gulped as she got up from the chair, only to bend down and hold out her hand.

Lumière took it gently and started placing little kisses on it in between his word. He also couldn't help but notice that she was not wearing a ring. "Call…" (kiss) "me…" (kiss) Lumière…"

Belle couldn't help but giggle a little. This was the first time ever she had gotten the affections of a candelabra!

"Lumière!" Cogsworth cut in with a stern voice. "Behave yourself!" He made a little bow as he glanced up to Belle. "Mademoiselle, what a pleasure to have you here! My name is Cogsworth, head of the household!"

Lumière gave a meaningful cough from behind his back, as if to dispute Cogsworth's claim of authority. Cogsworth turned as he heard that and shot him a deadly glare.

"I'm Belle," Belle replied softly, feeling a little lightheaded from all the magical objects surrounding her. "I'm so sorry to bother you all, but I can repay you for your efforts if you help me and Philippe!"

Belle took out her sachet of money, but Cogsworth immediately took a step backwards and raised his hands defensively. "We'll have none of that!" he said sternly. "You are our guest and we are glad to have you!"

Lumière frowned as he quietly went over to Mrs. Potts. "Who's Philippe, her boyfriend?"

"Her horse," Mrs. Potts whispered back. "It got shot and she can't leave without it."

Lumière visibly relaxed and grinned. "_Perfect_."

"How long will you be staying?" Cogsworth asked Belle, his voice a little nervous as he rubbed his hands together.

"Oh, I'll leave as soon as Philippe is fit to travel again," Belle carefully explained. "I was on my way to my sick great-aunt in Florence."

Mrs. Potts, Lumière and Cogsworth eyed each other anxiously. This was awkward. They felt bad for not wanting this good-hearted girl to leave the palace. Leaving an old and sick lady waiting seemed cruel… But surely leaving them in this magical form forever was even more cruel?

"I'm Chip!" Chip cried out happily as he hopped closer. "Would you like some tea?"

Belle grinned. The little teacup was truly adorable. "I'd love some." She smiled gently.

"I should inform the master," Cogsworth decided, bracing himself mentally. "Lumière, if you could check on how the horse is doing…"

"I'll go get her some tea!" Mrs. Potts suggested, perking up as she already headed for the door.

Cogsworth nodded and turned to the only one that would be left in the room then. "Chip…" Cogsworth thought about it. "…Just keep her company."

"Yes, sir!" Chip replied, grinning broadly.

"We'll be right back, mademoiselle," Lumière tried to reassure Belle. "You'll see!"

Belle sat down in the chair again as Lumière, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts left the room. _What odd company…_

"You're really pretty!" Chip suddenly burst out. He was so excited! _A girl!_ Now the curse could be broken!

Belle laughed a little before she bowed her head a little. "Thank you! And you are the nicest little teacup I have ever seen!"

"Nah," Chip smiled shyly. "I look exactly the same as my brothers and sisters. …Well, almost…"

Belle smiled, but her gaze suddenly drifted to the window and she couldn't resist a sigh. "I hope Philippe is alright…"

"Don't worry!" Chip tried to cheer her up. "You can stay here as long as you want and meet our master too!"

Belle turned to the eager little teacup. Whoever this master was, if he could afford to live in a place like this, magical or not, he had to be powerful. Whether she was dealing with a wizard, king or count she didn't know. "What's he like?" Belle wondered curiously.

Chip hesitated as he looked down at the floor. How was he going to put this? "Well… He is pretty ugly…"

Belle put her hand in front of her mouth as she couldn't help a laugh. "Well, surely that's not his fault," she smiled.

Chip frowned. "Mama says it is."

Belle laughed a little bit more_. Kids…_ They sure could be funny!


	3. Meeting the Master

**Chapter 3: Meeting the Master**

Beast stood in front of his four-poster bed. It was one of the few pieces in the room he had never fully destroyed. Though the curtains around it had been ripped off years before, the wood of the four-poster poles itself still was sturdy enough to carry a lot of weight. Or so he hoped.

Carefully, Beast picked up some long wooden boards he had found in the attic of the East Wing and placed them on top of the canopy frame over the four-poster. When he was finished, he ran over to the door of his quarters and looked at the bed. The wooden planks were hardly visible from the door opening. That was good.

The master grinned in approval as he quickly hurried back and started climbing onto the canopy frame of the bed. The wood cracked and Beast proceeded carefully. He didn't want his new hiding spot to collapse, after all. He noticed there were several spider webs against the ceiling and made a mental note to order Babette to dust his room a little better. He smirked at the irony of ordering a 15-inch tall feather duster to dust the ceiling. How was she ever going to reach that?

Grinning to himself, Beast eyed the room. It was always a mess, but he liked it that way. It added a scarier atmosphere to the place and that was perfect for his victims. He didn't mind the junk that way.

He eyed the rose and gave a small sigh. It looked like another petal had fallen today. His birthday was approaching rapidly and soon he wouldn't have the magical light to brighten up his room anymore. He'd have to use _candles_ then. Candles were such a mess. It was rather difficult too to light them with massive claws for fingers. He guessed he'd be seeing a lot more of Lumière then.

A knock on the door startled him a little. That was quick! He hadn't expected to test his latest scaring spot so quickly. He made himself as small as he could be, even though he was a large Beast, and peeked at the door. Cogsworth looked visibly nervous as he entered the room.

With his hands shaking, Cogsworth looked around. "Master?" he asked as he shivered. Not just from the coldness of the room, but also out of fear. The room had an eerie feeling to it. Cogsworth avoided bumping into the mess that was left on the floor. He passed by an old, open trunk, a broken wooden chair, a piece of a small gargoyle statue, dusty books with their pages ripped out and he saw a spider crawl away behind a painting that laid on the floor. Gulping, Cogsworth ran to the table where the rose stood and looked around again. "Master? Are you here?"

Beast kept as quiet as he could as he eyed the head of the household shaking as he moved closer to the bed. _Almost…_

Cogsworth didn't know what to do. Where had the master hidden? Was he even here? He moved closer to the bed. Had the master hidden underneath it? Where could he be?

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!"

"Aaaaah!" Cogsworth shrieked as a monster jumped down on him and roared deafeningly, his menacing fangs only inches from Cogsworth's face.

As Cogsworth gasped for air, Beast backed away and started laughing. "I had you there!" he said proudly.

Cogsworth's heart was still racing from the terror he had just endured. "Yes, you did," he admitted weakly. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

"Did you see me coming?" the master asked eagerly, getting up to his full height and adjusting the wooden boards on top of the four-poster again. They had shifted a little as he had jumped. "I want you to tell Lumière I need to speak with him." Beast grinned to himself. If it had worked this well on Cogsworth, it could work on Lumière as well. "Just tell him something… Like that I need him to discuss the use of candles in my room. I'm going to need some new sort of light for when the rose withers."

Beast hurried over to his rose, lifted the bell glass that protected his rose and blew away the petal that lay on the table. "I was thinking of some sort of colored light," Beast added, thinking out loud as he put the bell glass over the rose again. "Nothing pink like the rose though. But nothing white or yellow either. Perhaps blue or purple. I'd like that."

"Master," Cogsworth interrupted, still trembling, even though the terror was long over now. "There's a girl in the castle."

Beast froze.

"What?!"

"There's a girl in the castle," Cogsworth repeated with a trembling voice as he awaited the master's reaction to this.

_A girl?_ After all this time? It was only a month until his birthday. He had waited for so long, in vain, brooding and feeling miserable and depressed of his fate. _And now…_ But he had accepted his fate years ago…

Beast shook his head. He wouldn't let it bother him. Not now. He was content. Sure, more people to scare in the castle could never hurt anyone, but he didn't want to live with this fickle idea of hope. Hope was treacherous. It could turn out all different ways. And if she actually was blind and could learn to love him, even then, did he really want to go back to his human form? He was _okay_ with being a beast, scaring his servants and living a life of freedom, even if that freedom didn't stretch further than the castle walls. At least he didn't have to be a prince with a busy agenda, having to confine himself with idiotic virtues like politeness and courtesy all the time.

No, how stupid it would be for him to set his mind on this hope and on this idea of love. He didn't want a girl. He wanted peace and quiet. And opportunities to scare people.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Beast replied, making up his mind. "We're not a hotel. Send her out."

Cogsworth's hope dropped again. Lumière had been so wrong. He had forgotten the master's nature. The last time the master had wanted a girl to enter the castle, so he could be given a chance, had been years ago. The master didn't have his mind set on breaking this curse at all. He was just avoiding the responsibility he had towards both the kingdom _and_ his servants. It hurt Cogsworth to think that the master wasn't even going to_ try_ to lift the curse, so that at least his servants could go back to a human life. It was selfish of the master and showed how little he had learned in his years under the curse.

"M-master," Cogsworth hesitated. "The girl can't leave just now. Her horse got shot or some such thing. We're taking care of the animal right now. But she might have to stay a while longer if the horse is unready for travel."

Beast rolled his eyes. "Fine, then let her stay until she's ready to go."

Cogsworth didn't know what to do. He was ready to leave the room and go and tell Belle that, but then he knew that Beast wouldn't leave his room until the moment the girl was gone and there would be no chance of breaking the curse at all. "But master, I told Belle you would meet her."

Beast sneered when he heard her name. "_Belle_. I suppose she's _really_ pretty, with a name like that."

"She-she is master!" Cogsworth agreed quickly, nodding. Perhaps if he could get the master curious, he'd go and see her.

Beast's look got more serious. "Pretty hey?" He wondered out loud. "I suppose she is really sweet too?"

Cogsworth frowned. He wondered since when the master was interested in sweet girls. But this was good! If he had interest in sweet girls, Belle was not going to disappoint him. "Oh! Oh yes, master!" Cogsworth said, cheering up with every word he said. "She is very sweet! She was on her way to her sick… great-aunt or something!"

Beast grinned as he turned his back to Cogsworth and stared at the rose. This could be fun. "And I suppose she was a little startled to see all these enchanted household objects hopping around, or wasn't she?"

"Oh yes!" Cogsworth agreed, laughing now. This was going great – the master was even showing concern and even wanted to comfort her. "She was trembling!"

"Trembling," Beast replied quietly, grinning to himself. "_Perfect_."

Cogsworth couldn't help but smile, wondering what the master was thinking that he seemed to have such a content expression on his face as he turned back around.

"I suppose I will see her then!" Beast concluded as he lifted his chin. "Where is she now?"

Cogsworth laughed. "Splendid, master! She is in the tea room on the ground floor, she…"

"Good." Beast interrupted Cogsworth quickly. "I will see her on the second floor. Bring her to the reading room."

Cogsworth frowned. Why the reading room? "But sir, the reading room…"

"…is just as fit for tea as the tea room," Beast said as calmly as he could. "There are two seats there and we shall have tea there." Beast sighed deeply, a warning to Cogsworth to not question his decision any further.

Cogsworth heard that sigh and knew that any question now would get him thrown out of the West Wing.

"Right away, master!" Cogsworth said as he hurried out of the room, but suddenly Beast sped past him, on his way to the second floor.

Cogsworth could not believe what he had just seen! The master was so eager to meet this girl! And he had actually thought the master had given up all hope! Oh he had been so wrong! He was going to hate admitting it to Lumière though…

* * *

Lumière opened the castle door once more and went inside. He sighed as he thought hard about what the stable master had just told him. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice someone was waiting for him next to the door.

"Lumière!" Babette called out. "What did the stable master say?"

Lumière frowned as Babette hurried over to him, her face not even an inch from his, batting her eyelashes in a curious matter. Lumière's frown certainly wasn't one of dislike – hardly. He adored Babette, the sensual feather duster, more than anybody else in the castle. But he frowned at the thought that the news had spread this quickly through the castle already.

"How did you know, cheri?" Lumière asked her in return, making his way back to the tea room.

"Mrs. Potts was in the kitchen and she told us _everything_ about Belle! How is her horse? How long will she have to stay here?" Babette hurried alongside Lumière, eager to find out as much as she could.

Lumière's frown didn't leave his face as he answered. "All right. The stable master told me they should be able to continue without too much trouble tomorrow morning."

Babette's optimistic smile faded. "Tomorrow morning?" she repeated, looking to the ground before she glanced up to Lumière again. "That is too little time! How are they supposed to fall in love in less than twenty-four hours!"

Lumière shook his head as he saw Babette's devastated expression. He gently caressed her cheek with his hand, or rather, with the candle he had come to use as a hand for seven years now. It was agony to think they might never be returned to their human forms and that he might never again see Babette as anything other than a feather duster.

"It was enough time for _us_, amour," he whispered gently, attempting a faint smile.

Babette smiled back softly as she looked into his eyes, hoping she could carry over some of his hope for herself.

"At least we were human," Babette sighed. "I don't think you ever felt an attraction towards a feather duster before this curse hit us."

Lumière chuckled. "I have to agree with you on that, cheri. Though I am always glad to have you around and you know that."

"Yes, but the both of us would rather _be around_ as humans, wouldn't we?"

"Yes," Lumière whispered back, looking into her face before he averted his eyes again. "If only there was a way to make Belle stay longer…"

Babette frowned as she thought. "We could lie about the condition of the horse?"

Lumière shook his head. That wasn't going to work. "If she checked out on her horse, she'd find out he was fit for travel."

Babette nodded in agreement to that. "We could hide the horse?"

Lumière grinned. "Not a bad idea, but a bit childish I'm afraid."

"Kill the horse?" Babette suggested sheepishly, causing Lumière to laugh.

"I suppose we are quite desperate, aren't we?"

Babette and Lumière sighed at the same moment as they reached the door to the tea room. Babette felt bad about this. They were given this tiny speck of hope and it was causing her greater distress than anything else in the seven years they had lived without.

"One day is too short," Babette sighed quietly.

"I know," Lumière replied, offering her a smile, but it wasn't helpful.

As they entered the room, they heard Cogsworth talking to Belle.

"…and he is delighted to meet you! He is expecting you in the reading room! It is on the second floor so if you'll just follow me!"

"Reading room?" Belle replied, interested. "Does he like to read?" She hadn't often come across other people that were as interested in books as she was.

"Oh no," Cogsworth quickly laughed, not noticing how Belle was actually interested in books. "He lacks the patience and couldn't get through a page in less than an hour. I haven't seen him read since he was seven." As Cogsworth suddenly saw Lumière and Babette in the door opening, he coughed. "Ahem. We are taking Belle to the reading room on the second floor," he announced stiffly.

Lumière and Babette quickly moved out of the way to let Cogsworth through, yet they eyed each other at the same time, the question obvious in their eyes. _Why the reading room?_

Belle followed Cogsworth with Mrs. Potts and Chip in her wake as they rolled after her on a silver cart. Lumière and Babette hurried after them, unable to feel at ease with the master's decision to meet her in the reading room. _Why there?_ It just made no sense whatsoever. Was he up to something?

Belle followed Cogsworth, her bag in her hands as she looked around. She wasn't quite sure what style this castle was built in. Was it baroque? Gothic? She was hardly an expert in this. The fanciest house she had seen in the town of Molyneaux was Gaston's and his house wasn't exactly build in a particular style at all. It just was a pretty and fancy house, better than anyone else's, to match Gaston's ego.

Lumière quickly hurried to Belle's side as he noticed the bag in her hands.

"Would you like me to carry that for you, mademoiselle?" he offered like a true gentleman.

Belle was about to reply when she frowned. She couldn't hand her bag to the candelabra. The bag was almost bigger than him! And it was definitely five times as heavy.

"I'm not sure," Belle replied honestly. "Isn't it too heavy for you, monsieur?"

Lumière's cheesy grin disappeared as he frowned. Never before had he even considered that. Seven years had he been a candelabra… Yet now, for the first time since the curse he had the opportunity to help a lady, yet it hadn't occurred to him that he couldn't do simple gentlemanly actions like lend her his arm, offer to carry her bags or anything of the sort. It disturbed him a little.

"Why don't you put the bag on the cart, dear?" Mrs. Potts suggested. "It doesn't mind."

The cart was one of the unfortunate household objects that had been stripped of the power of speech. If it had still had that power, it would have objected. It was going to have to go up to two flights of stairs! And as if Mrs. Potts and Chip weren't heavy enough, it was also going to have to carry a bag? Life was cruel.

"Oh, that's nice, thank you!" Belle smiled as she put her bag on the silver cart.

Belle had all the time she needed to look around as she waited for the household objects to climb the stairs. Though Lumière, Babette and Cogsworth were able to skip up the stairs rather quickly and efficiently, it didn't seem that easy to get up the stairs for the cart. It was very flexible for something that appeared to be made of silver, but it still took a long while for the cart to get to the hallway where they needed to be.

Cogsworth led the way down a dark and dusty corridor. At the far end of the corridor, curtains blocked the sunlight that wanted to burst through the stained glass. Several rips in the curtains allowed streams of light to come through and dust played in the lighted parts of air. Belle held her breath as they passed by gigantic statues of gargoyles and demons. Their creepy design made shivers run down her back and she gulped as she further looked at the large claws that seemed out to get her and the stone fangs that wanted to sink into her.

"It's just at the end of the corridor," Cogsworth assured Belle quietly, unable to say anything more. The thought of the master meeting Belle was too exciting, too thrilling. Soon they could be human again!

The thought that they had yet to pass another dozen of these giant statues on both sides of the corridor didn't reassure Belle. She also couldn't help but wonder what happened to the curtains that they were torn like that.

Beast eyed them curiously as they made their way up the stairs and started walking down the corridor. He could see the girl looking at the spooky statues and the ripped curtains. Beast grinned as he remained hidden on the back of one of the statues, waiting for the right moment. Timing, after all, was everything.

Her pretty face looked worried already and the servants were quieter than usual. This was good too, for it helped with the frightening atmosphere. They were nearly at his statue now. Beast was growing more excited by the second.

Belle eyed a particular statue on her left side. The monster appeared to have a vicious snake for a tongue and its horns looked sharper than razors.

As she tried to shake off the bad feeling she had, suddenly a roar at her right side scared her out of her wits as a huge monster jumped down from a statue, baring his menacing claws and fangs.

Belle screamed and fell to the floor, Cogsworth grabbed his timepiece, Lumière and Babette cowered in each other's arms, the silver cart fell over, causing Mrs. Potts and Chip to fall as well, while Mrs. Potts accidentally spilt all her tea. Belle gasped in terror, unable to speak or move. She had just screamed all the air out of her lungs. She was positive she would be fainting next. Chip, who had felt rather scared too, suddenly started laughing. He loved the thrill of being scared.

Beast backed away again, grinning broadly. He quickly counted on his hands. "Seven at a time!" he said proudly. "I think it must be a new record!"

Belle was still gazing at the beast in front of her. _It talked?_ Why? What was it saying?

"That was _awesome_!" Chip cried out, hiccupping with laughter.

Cogsworth got to his senses again and quickly got up, eyeing Belle anxiously. She looked positively terrified. Perhaps he should have warned her of the master's nature. "Yes," Cogsworth said nervously, looking from Belle to Beast. "You had us there, master!"

As Lumière and Babette got back up, they hastily aided Cogsworth attempt to turn the mood around. "Yes, we didn't see you coming, monsieur," Babette smiled innocently. Usually she'd scold and curse the master after an attempt to scare her out of her wits, but this time was different. There was Belle.

Beast frowned suspiciously at Babette's words. She had never before seen the fun in a good fright. The household certainly was behaving oddly.

"Yes, master, I should have seen it coming, with the scary atmosphere and such," Lumière added in a voice as optimistic as he could muster, feeling as though he could die. How on earth was Belle supposed to like the master if he would only take pleasure in terrifying her?

Mrs. Potts sighed deeply. "Ow my, I spilt my tea," she muttered. "Help the cart back up, I am going to fetch some more."

Beast quickly hurried over to the cart and helped it on its wheels again. He was the only one that could do so. The others were too small. It could have been fun to watch them try to aid the cart back up, but Beast wasn't in the mood for waiting. He would actually prefer to have his tea now.

"Yes, good idea, Mrs. Potts. Get some tea!" Beast nodded, before he quickly turned to look at the girl. She was still on the floor, her breathing slow and the look on her face incredulous. Beast felt a little proud that the effect of the scare had lasted this long, but it was getting a little awkward as well. "Tea?" he asked her.

Lumière felt like he could hit his forehead. He had tried so hard to teach the master some manners. He had devoted years of his life to instructing him how to behave like a gentleman. Now he had just scared her to death, without an apology or anything of the sort, only to abruptly ask her if she would like tea. He didn't even say: "Would you like to have some…" or "Please?" Lumière felt deeply ashamed.

Belle closed her mouth as she realized she was staring. So this was the master. He seemed fonder of the idea of having tea than he seemed of wanting to eat her. Still, Belle found her knees were weak and she felt like she could very well pass out.

Noticing that the girl seemed to be having a problem to getting again, Beast took her hands and quickly pulled her up.

Babette winced as she noticed it. The way the master had just helped Belle to her feet could have pulled her arms out of her sockets. He was anything but a gentleman.

Belle found herself shaking as Beast released her hands again. "Tea," she suddenly repeated weakly, nodding to herself. "Yes, tea… sounds… lovely!" _It doesn't sound as lovely as _air_ for the moment though! Breathe, Belle, breathe!_

Belle tried to get to grips with herself. _He's not going to eat you. Just calm down!_ Somehow Belle already knew that the tea was going to taste a little differently today.

* * *

**Word from the author**: _As you noticed I moved the word from the author to the back of the chapter. Seems to make more sense to me._

_Once again I feel obliged to give you all a warm 'thank you' for the reviews. I enjoy hearing what you all think about the story (or hearing stuff like you're reading it on a business trip. Tsss. Instead of doing your actual work, shame on you:-P). (Nah, just kidding, I do value my story more than your work too!)_

_Trudi, I feel like I can't thank you enough for beta-ing the story. Seriously folks, without her this story would be a landmine of all sorts of errors._

_Kayasuri-n, I wish I had had you around when I wrote that horse-scene! For those that don't know, Kayasuri is a horse nut of sorts and she kindly informed me on how a horse like Philippe would have reacted to getting shot in a lengthy review. I really have to say that I was grinning when reading it and if ever I decide to shoot Philippe again (poor horse), I know who I'll turn to for advice! ;-) _

_Kayasuri also wondered whether I was going to give Beast a name, but all I can say to that is: read on. (Good question though!)_

_Stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	4. A Matter of Tea, Money and Trust

**Chapter 4: A Matter of Tea, Money and Trust**

Beast hurried off to a small door a little bit further in the corridor and went inside. He didn't wait for Belle or the other household objects to catch up. They followed slowly after him.

Lumière reminded him to scold the master for not letting Belle enter first. He had an aggravated expression on his face and Babette gave him a hopeful smile before they entered the room. Beast had already sat down in the largest chair in front of the unlit fireplace. It was rather cold in the room, but he didn't mind.

Belle gulped as she entered, unsure what to do. Any other man would incline her to sit down. Beast just looked at her.

He studied her appraisingly. Well, she wasn't ugly. That was all he could decide on. The wild ride on Philippe through the forest had messed Belle's hair up and her face was drained of all natural color. True, she didn't look very impressive like this.

Lumière, Babette and Cogsworth stood by the door quietly, observing how Belle nervously sat down in the chair, looking very unsure of herself. They prayed that Beast would be kind to her. Lumière cleared his throat, trying to get it to the master's attention that he had to say something to Belle.

Beast frowned as he saw the three household objects in the door. He felt irritated by their hopeful and anxious expressions. Surely they weren't seriously expecting him to woo this girl? "Leave," he said coldly to his servants.

Belle turned around in her chair, looking at the magical objects. Were they going to leave her there? With that monster? She caught an apologetic look on Babette's face as the duster left and she felt her panic rising.

Lumière caught Belle's distressed look and quickly tried to reassure her. "We will be back with tea in just a few minutes, mademoiselle!"

Belle gulped as she turned back in her chair and faced Beast. She heard the door close behind her and braced herself against the armrests.

Beast looked at the ground. He wasn't accustomed to talking to strangers. Small talk wasn't exactly something he engaged in a lot. He nervously scratched his neck. "So ehm…" Beast hopefully looked into her eyes. "Did I scare you?"

"Excuse me?" Belle said quietly, unable to believe what he had just asked her.

"W-when I jumped from the gargoyle statue," Beast quickly explained.

Belle couldn't help an awkward laugh that left her mouth. "I screamed and fell to the floor," Belle replied as she gazed upon Beast, who was looking into her eyes and blinked his with a blank expression. Belle frowned. "I'd say it was about the scariest thing I've ever endured, yes."

Beast's face broke into a broad grin and Belle couldn't help but brace herself even more as she gazed upon his bared set of fangs.

Beast's grin faded into a small smile, content with the work he had done today. It was kind of fun hearing such a compliment from a stranger. It would be a shame that she would leave again soon. "So your horse got shot, huh?" he said.

Belle quickly nodded. "Yes."

"Bullet?" Beast tried to sound genuinely interested.

"Yes. And arrow," Belle replied awkwardly.

"Bullet and arrow," Beast summarized, staring at the high ceiling. No spiders. How on earth had Babette dusted _that_?

Belle found herself looking around in the small room as well. There was a desk in front of the window, loaded with paper, quills, feathers and parchment. There was a bookcase against the furthest wall and Belle couldn't help but feel a natural curiosity towards it.

"May I?" she suddenly asked, overcoming a part of her fears as she pointed to the bookcase.

Beast turned to see what Belle was pointing at. What did she want? "May you what?" Beast asked, confused.

Belle got up quietly as she still pointed to the bookcase. "See the books, please?" she added nervously.

What an odd request. Beast couldn't help a wary look. "Sure," he replied slowly, watching as she made her way to the bookcase, still trembling a little.

Belle inspected the books quickly. Some were even in foreign languages; others seemed to be dictionaries, encyclopedias and atlases. There didn't seem to be any fiction in the bookcase. She stroked the back of one of the books gently and sighed.

Beast wasn't sure what exactly he was witnessing. It made him feel a little uncomfortable as he sat in his chair. "What are you looking for?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Just… a good story," Belle replied, failing to mask a blush. At least the company of these books had returned her vital functions to normal! But she couldn't help the blushing when strangers asked her about books. Their questions were so often accompanied by hints of misunderstanding and insults.

"And you're going to find that in there?" he asked as he gave her a curious look.

"No," Belle quickly shook her head. "Unfortunately not… These are just encyclopedias and such. They don't hold the thrill of a good story."

Beast's ears perked up. "Thrill?" he repeated, getting up from his chair and making his way over to the bookcase, not noticing how Belle suddenly took two steps backward as he reached for the biggest book and pulled it out.

It had never crossed his mind that he could find inspiration for his thrills in books. Usually he had just wondered across the attics and dungeons until he had found something eerie that could inspire him for the next scare. Looking through books was a lot easier. He clumsily opened up the book with his large paws and tried to turn the pages, folding many of them in his eagerness.

Belle gulped as she watched him. What was he looking for? Why had he taken out an encyclopedia of animals? And he certainly seemed to behave a little awkwardly around these books.

Beast was excited that this book had lots of images. There were all sorts of animals drawn in the encyclopedia. He stopped as he came by a page of a wolf. On one side it showed a drawing of a wolf howling against the moon, on the other side it showed the skeleton of a wolf's head. "Impressive," Beast muttered. "This is inspiring already! If I could just get such a skeleton, place it in the dungeons… Yes… I'd say I'd like to meet Lumière there… Then… No, that wouldn't work… Perhaps Babette…" Beast muttered to himself as he took the book and went back to sit in his chair, thinking.

Belle shook her head incredulously. _What an odd beast…_ She slowly made her way back to her chair and sat down in it, watching the master of the castle as he clumsily turned page by page.

Suddenly he slammed the book shut and put it on the table in front of them. He folded his hands together and pressed his index fingers against each other as he stared into the empty fireplace. He was thinking very hard.

Belle couldn't help but carefully lean closer. She had the instinct impression that she might overhear his thoughts, however ridiculous that seemed.

"I have to thank you!" Beast suddenly cried out, causing Belle to jump in her seat. Belle was about to ask what he meant when he got up from his chair and started pacing on both his hands and feet. "You have inspired me on where I can look for inspiration on my next scare! I had never thought to look for it in a book! That is really clever!"

Belle felt a little showered with compliments. She wasn't really used to compliments that had to do with books and to hear it coming from a Beast made her a little nervous. This wasn't a normal situation.

Beast suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Did he actually… Yes, he felt something… _Gratitude. What an odd sensation._ It didn't feel like he would fall in love with her or anything, no, of course not! But he didn't feel either as though the words that left his mouth were forced. "Thank you, Belle!"

"You're welcome, eh…" Belle hesitated. "What may I call you?"

Beast had heard something from behind the door. It suddenly crossed his mind that his curious servants were eager enough to actually be eavesdropping on the conversation. Beast casually and slowly walked closer to the door. "Nobody ever calls me by my name and you are not a servant," Beast said slowly, focusing on the door as he took hold of the handle. "You may call me Beast."

Suddenly he opened the door with such a force that the door flew off its hinges and Lumière, Babette and Cogsworth fell face-down to the floor.

Beast let the door drop with a loud boom. He bent down and glared angrily at his servants as they quickly hurried up.

"I was just dusting the door, monsieur!" Babette quickly excused herself, hurrying backwards along with Lumière.

"I eh… was inspecting her!" Cogsworth quickly added, grinning nervously as he took a few slow steps backwards as well.

"Eh, so I was I, master!" Lumière added smoothly, but Cogsworth slapped him.

"It is not your task to inspect the household!" Cogsworth bit to Lumière. "I am the head of household, not you!"

"I may inspect Babette all I want!" Lumière replied in a grumbling voice.

"If you inspect Babette in the time you should be spending on actually doing your job, I will fire you!"

Beast grew sick of their bickering and suddenly let out a loud roar. The air of that roar nearly caused the three servants to fly backwards, but before they had the chance to reply, Beast was already attempting to put the door back in the door frame.

Beast banged into the door, causing it to crack loudly as he tried to fit it back in. It didn't work however and after a few attempts he took a deep sigh and decided to leave it be.

Belle gulped as she saw Beast return to his seat as though nothing at all had happened. Belle couldn't believe what he had just done! He had pulled the door out of its hinges, yelled at his servants and now he sat in front of her as though nothing had occurred.

Beast suddenly noticed Belle's wary expression and scratched his neck nervously. "They have a tendency to be a little too curious for their own good," he tried to explain.

Belle nodded slowly and smiled sheepishly. _Obviously._

As they sat in the chairs and looked at each other, they could hear Mrs. Potts' voice coming from the corridor.

"What on earth happened to the door?"

Neither Beast nor Belle could make out what was being whispered back to Mrs. Potts, but after a few moments her voice once again cut in sharply as Chip seemed to be roaring with laughter at what the others had just told.

"You were eavesdropping?! Well that serves you right then! Now tell me, how am I supposed to open this door?"

The door suddenly fell to the ground with another loud boom as the silver cart with Mrs. Potts and Chip amongst several other dishes and cups on it casually rode in. "Tea is ready," Mrs. Potts announced in her cheerful voice.

Belle was simply amazed by the haphazard way in which this household seemed to be able to hold itself together. It was both astonishing as well as charming. She couldn't help a smile.

Mrs. Potts stared at Beast, waiting for her master to serve the girl tea, but instead he sat in the chair, his arms folded over one another, staring at the ceiling again. Mrs. Potts cleared her throat meaningfully. It would only be very polite if the master would pour the girl some tea. It would be a sign of humility.

Belle waited curiously for something to happen, but all she saw was that Mrs. Potts was trying to get the attention of the master. She didn't really understand what was going on, but suddenly a thought occurred to her. "Do you want me to pour out the tea?" she suddenly suggested.

"No, no, please don't, dearest," Mrs. Potts said sweetly, though her forced smile betrayed that she was a little angry with the master. "You are not a servant."

Beast couldn't help but get the feeling that Mrs. Potts wanted _him_ to actually pour out the tea. He was _not_ going to serve her tea. Mrs. Potts could do it herself. "She is not a master either!"

"No she is a _guest_!" Mrs. Potts pointed out. "And that means we should treat her as such! Pour her some tea!"

"No," Beast said simply. "I shall do no such thing. Do it yourself!" Beast folded his arms defensively. "Or get a suit of armor to do it then."

Belle could hear Mrs. Potts literally boiling with anger now.

"I shall do no such thing! You can't expect a suit of armor to pour out tea, it simply_ isn't_ proper!"

"I'll do it!" Belle cut in.

"NO!" Beast and Mrs. Potts shouted at the same time, glaring angrily at each other.

Mrs. Potts bit her teeth together as she tried to persuade him in the quietest way possible. "Master. Pour. Her. Tea."

"Do it yourself!" Beast hissed back just as quietly.

Mrs. Potts lost her temper at the idiocy of that command. "Now is it so hard to listen to a teapot for crying out loud! I need…"

Mrs. Potts suddenly kept her mouth as she felt she was being lifted in the air. Belle had gotten up from her chair and quickly poured two cups of tea. _Anything to make this insanity stop! Papa is never going to believe I saw a Beast argue with a teapot!_

She handed over a teacup to Beast and poured another one for herself, quickly setting Mrs. Potts back down on the silver cart. She nervously sat back in her chair and sipped her tea quietly.

Beast and Mrs. Potts stared incredulously at Belle. Beast didn't even notice he was spilling tea on his pants. Chip, who held Beast's tea, tried to get his attention. "Psst, master! You are spilling!"

As Beast carefully lifted the cup and took a sip, he didn't let his eyes wander from Belle. _Remarkable._ He had been enjoying an argument and she had just… ended it. Nobody had ever done that before.

"Ahem," Cogsworth tried to get the master's attention as he came into the room again, closely followed by Lumière and Babette. "Master, perhaps we should talk about Belle's stay in the castle."

Belle suddenly remembered Philippe and turned to Lumière. "What did the stable master say?" she asked curiously. "Is Philippe going to be alright?"

Under other circumstances, Beast wouldn't have liked it much if he had been cut off by anyone else. But the fact was that Belle was asking something that interested him too. He wanted to know how long she would have to stay in the castle and eyed Lumière eagerly.

Lumière stepped forward, but he hesitated as he did so. _A day is too short! Just lie!_ But he couldn't fool himself: she would find out. And he didn't want her to worry about her horse. "Philippe will be all right. He should be fit enough for travel by tomorrow." He gulped before he quickly added: "But any additional rest he can take here won't hurt him either and will only speed the recovery!"

Belle smiled. That was a relief to know. "Oh, that is wonderful," she sighed. "I shall leave in the morning then." She quickly took her bag and got out her sachet of money and gave it to Beast. "Here, please, take this."

Beast put Chip back down on the silver cart as he took the sachet and eyed it suspiciously. "What is it?"

"It's money," Belle answered, feeling a little awkward. "I hope it's enough to repay you for your kindness. I insist you take it."

Beast opened up the sachet and took a coin in between his claws. He had never ever seen money before and laughed a little at that thought. _How odd._ And some said that money was what made the world go round, yet this was the first coin he had ever laid eyes upon. Curiously he took the coin and bit it with his fangs.

Lumière once again couldn't help but grit his teeth. Biting a coin was only a sign of mistrust and it was incredibly rude to do in the presence of someone who should be treated as a guest!

As Beast failed to break the coin with his fangs, he wanted to put it in the bag again, but just as he wanted to take it from in between his teeth, he lost grip of it and next thing he knew he was nearly choking on it.

"Master!" Cogsworth cried out, hurrying to Beast as he started coughing like mad. "Put your arms in the air!"

"Just hit his back!" Lumière told Cogsworth as the clock started climbing the chair.

As Beast stood up and Cogsworth had reached the highest part of the chair, Cogsworth suddenly jumped onto the master's back, hitting with all his might… Which wasn't a lot of might.

Belle couldn't believe what was going on and quickly got up as well as she tried to aid Cogsworth in hitting Beast's back, hoping she could put a little more force behind it..

The sounds of a deep cough, the ringing of a coin hitting the ground and a deep gasp that followed meant that it was over.

Cogsworth fell to the floor as he accidentally let go of the cape he was hanging onto. Belle quickly aided him up, putting him on the silver cart besides Mrs. Potts, before she turned to Beast. "Are you okay?"

"I nearly died of that money of yours!" he replied with a hoarse voice, putting the sachet back into her hands. "Keep it, I don't want it!"

Belle didn't know whether she should laugh or be seriously worried as Beast sat back down in his chair. It was Cogsworth who relieved the tension. "As I said before, we'll have none of that. Our hospitability is free!"

"Thank you," Belle said as she sat back in her chair as well. "Thank you all!"

Lumière and Babette felt bad. This wasn't going as bad as possible. At least_ she_ was behaving nicely to the master. But they would never be able to break the spell in just one evening, it was simply impossible. But how could they make Belle stay longer?

Belle finished her tea quietly and put her hands in her lap afterwards. "This has truly been a remarkable day," she sighed, a content expression on her face. "My father is never going to believe I met a speaking clock, candelabra and teapot! Or that I saw a Beast nearly choke in a coin." Belle couldn't help but giggle softly. "Everyone will just think I'm crazy."

The objects eyed each other warningly. Was she going to tell others about the castle? They all felt a little worried because of that. Nobody had ever entered the castle and nobody had ever been able to tell a word. What would people do if they found out about an enchanted castle?

"Are you really going to tell others about us?" Cogsworth asked Belle anxiously, wringing his hands as he took a step forward.

"Oh yes!" Belle laughed. "I might even write about it. Nobody would ever believe me, though!"

"They wouldn't?" Cogsworth laughed nervously. "Oh that's a relief."

Lumière suddenly got an idea and his eyes lit up. Babette saw this and eyed him curiously as he ran over to Belle and grabbed hold of her skirt. "Please, mademoiselle Belle! Don't ever tell anyone about us!"

Belle was a little startled by Lumière's pleading tone. "Why not?"

Babette understood the plan, as risky as it was, and quickly hurried over to Belle's side as well. She had to try anything in her might to make this work. "Oh please, mademoiselle! If anyone would come and discover me, they'd pluck my feathers!"

Mrs. Potts didn't know _exactly_ what they were doing, but it seemed like Lumière had a plan of sorts. She felt like she could help. "Oh my! Yes! It would be dreadful if anyone found out! Oh I can't even imagine what they'd do to my children."

Chip eyed his Mama with large eyes. What was she talking about? It scared him that he couldn't keep up. "What would they do, Mama?" he asked curiously in a little voice.

"Unforgivable things, my dearest…"

Lumière whispered to Belle. "They'd just drop him and have him scatter into pieces! Oh, the horror of it!"

Belle's mouth fell open as she heard these fears come from the servants. "No, no, they wouldn't do that! I mean… They could be curious, yes, and…"

"I don't want to be put in a clock museum!" Cogsworth suddenly interrupted. "I will not waste away in a clock museum in Austria. I shall not have it!"

Lumière was delighted. Oddly enough, Cogsworth was cooperating for once. They weren't doomed just yet.

Beast had no idea what the servants were babbling about. Why were they scared like this? "Nothing's gonna happen!" his deep voice cut in. "Belle is going to go back home or wherever she is supposed to go and she is going to keep quiet about everything she saw here. Right?" Beast looked into Belle's eyes, but he saw her look was uncertain for a few moments.

She cast her eyes downwards and quickly nodded. "Right…" She found it to be a shame though… For once in her life, something wonderful and exciting happened and now she couldn't share the story with _anyone_! Not even Gaston's stories could match up to what she had seen here!

The servants exchanged meaningful looks with each other. Belle needed to stay longer. She just had to. They couldn't let her go, even if the master was willing to trust her.

"I must say I'm not entirely sure I can trust her," Lumière said quietly, talking in a voice that wasn't intent on insulting her at all. "I mean… we have only known her for a few hours… I wouldn't want to risk an angry mob storming the castle to steal the ballroom's chandelier or something. It's worth a fortune."

"Lumière!" Babette gasped. "She didn't know anything about the ballroom's expensive chandelier yet! Now we're getting an angry mob on our necks _for sure_!"

"No!" Belle quickly tried to make clear she didn't mean them any harm. "I will not…"

"Well, we shouldn't worry too much about angry mobs," Cogsworth cut in, understanding where the plan was leading them. "We've got the master to protect us! He's invincible!"

Beast frowned. "I wouldn't say that, I just nearly choked in a coin and last week I cut my finger so badly that…"

"Yes, the master will protect us!" Mrs. Potts interrupted, pretending she hadn't heard a single word the master had said. "If an angry mob shows up, he'll scare them away! He loves scaring people anyways! He'll be so good they'll be gone before they reach the ballroom!"

"Though I have to say that angry mobs these days carry a lot of swords and torches," Cogsworth added seriously. "And arrows and guns too!"

"Please stop!" Belle urged, trying to get the word. "I promise that I won't say anything! Please!"

Cogsworth shook his head. "My dearest, I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Lumière… I have only known you for a few hours, I don't know if I can trust you."

"But if I give my word!" Belle was pleading now, nearly getting up out of her chair. "I promise!"

"I suggest that you stay with us until we are two hundred percent sure we can trust you!" Lumière decided. "I think it is unwise to take any chances on this. There are too many lives at risk here."

"What do you say about this, master?" Cogsworth asked as he turned to Beast.

Beast shook his head. What did he have to say in this? He didn't want to die at the hand of an angry mob, nor did he want to be put in a museum… Or worse… They could hang his head on a tavern's wall. They could even use him as a rug. Beast felt a shiver down his spine from that thought.

He looked at Belle, who was shaking. Why was she shaking? Was it from fear that they had figured her out? Or just the fear that she would not be able to leave? Well, she could leave… She would only have to wait until trust was gained… But if she was shaking so visibly now, that meant that she did not have any hope… And if she did not have any hope, that had to mean that she had no good intentions either and that she _was_ guilty.

Beast thought for a few moments. He hoped he wasn't making any errors in judgments, but he wasn't sure of that. "This is a dangerous situation…" he said slowly.

Babette felt like she could kiss Lumière. His plan had worked!

Lumière gave Babette a quick and sly look before he resumed an innocent one.

"I say we wait…" Beast decided, not daring to look into Belle's eyes. "Until we decide she can be trusted." Beast looked at his servants. He would be a poor judge in deciding if Belle could be trusted. He had already almost let her go. He could imagine that if Belle would flirt with Lumière, he would trust her in a second. The same went for Cogsworth. Chip was just a kid, he was as ill-qualified to decide as he was. Babette was just… odd. Beast didn't even know if he could trust _her_, let alone leave her the one responsible for deciding on Belle's fate. The silver cart… didn't seem to have much of a personality. No, there was only one person fit for the job.

"Mrs. Potts," Beast started slowly. "I want you to decide whether or not Belle can be trusted to keep her word. I assign that to you."

Mrs. Potts gulped as she looked into the master's eyes. He was very serious about this. She would not want to let him down and nodded. "I will, master," she said as she bowed her head a little.

Belle stared numbly in front of her. "What does this mean?" she suddenly blurted out. "When will I be able to go to my great-aunt? Or return home?"

Beast didn't look up. He felt bad. He had kind of trusted her, but perhaps he shouldn't have. He was feeling really guilty for not letting her go now.

Cogsworth figured it would be cruel to let the master set the rules in this. It would not make him look good in front of Belle and they wanted Belle to like him, after all. If anyone had to be the bad-guy, it would be better if it was him. "We will judge your trustworthiness by next month," he decided.

Beast suddenly frowned. _One month… But in one month, the last petal…_

Cogsworth caught the look on the master's face and quickly added. "I once read that it takes one month to get to know if a person can be trusted or not! This I read in a British newspaper and they have very good research on this sort of thing. One month should be enough!"

Beast still frowned. He couldn't help but have the feeling he had been set up…

"A month?" Belle sighed deeply. "I can't wait for a month!" She was getting frustrated now. "My great-aunt could be _dying_, I can't sit around here and drink tea for an _entire_ month!"

Nothing Belle was saying was making Beast feel any better. A month. That was a very long time.

"I'm afraid you have no choice," Cogsworth quickly cut in, taking the role of bad-guy upon himself once more.

Lumière and Babette could not believe what they were seeing, but they were so happy that Cogsworth was standing his ground in this situation. The curse might now get broken, thanks to Cogsworth!

"We shall give you a room to store your belongings and we shall make sure you do not lack anything during your stay here. If there is anything at all we can do to make your stay more agreeable, you only need to let us know."

Belle shook her head as she bit back tears. "What part of the words 'I'm needed with my dying great-aunt' don't you understand?!" Belle bit to Cogsworth as she got up and threw her chair to the floor. She grabbed her bag from the ground and made a run for it.

"SOMEBODY STOP HER!" Cogsworth shouted as Belle left the room.

Lumière and Babette hurried to the corridor as fast as they could. Chip went closer to his Mama and cuddled up to her. He didn't like this one bit.

Beast sat in his chair, feeling numb.

"Master, stop her!" Cogsworth urged now, realizing that the master was the only one with the power and speed to stop her from leaving.

But he would not do it. _No. Why?_ He didn't want to keep her here against her will. She wanted to be free, was that such a crime? He finally jumped up from his chair when he heard a loud scream coming from the corridor.

Both he and Cogsworth ran out of the room and came to an abrupt halt when they saw it.

The large gargoyle and demon statues had come to life and blocked Belle's path. She lay helplessly on the floor with a dozen gigantic statues opposite her. She blocked her head with her arms as she laid as still as she could, crying at the cruelty of this place.

"I didn't know the statues could come to life," Lumière whispered to Babette, trembling a little by their terrifying appearance.

Babette nodded weakly. "They must have heard Cogsworth's command…"

Lumière held on tightly to Babette as Beast passed by them and walked up to the statues. "As you were!" he commanded in his deep voice, but the statues didn't move. They held their stone weapons firmly in their claws and held them pointed at Belle.

"I am the master of this castle!" Beast said in his most menacing voice. "And you _will_ return to your places. NOW!"

Suddenly the statues started moving and they went back to their pedestals. Once they were back on, they held still and nothing would have given away that they were able to move. They looked as dead as statues were supposed to be. Beast eyed the statues distrustfully.

Beast felt awkward as he looked at Belle. She still lay on the floor and hadn't looked up once since he had entered the corridor. She was shaking and Beast could hear her sobbing still.

"Please stop crying," Beast asked gently, feeling a little uneasy.

The servants didn't speak or make a sound as they stood quietly in the corridor, watching from a distance. _He had said please!_ They didn't dare to breathe now.

"They are gone," he tried to assure her, feeling a little silly for talking to someone who was laying face-down on the ground. "Well, not entirely gone… They're on their pedestals again. They won't come off to harm you…"

Belle took in the words of the master, but she didn't move and it seemed like she was talking to the floor rather than to anyone else as she laid still. "Yes and I suppose you'd want me to _trust_ you on that."

"Yes," Beast replied slowly, unsure why her tone seemed a little aggressive.

"I don't see why I would," she replied, sniffing back a tear as she turned. "Perhaps, in a _month_ I would, but now! This is _ridiculous_!" She finally jumped up again, the look on her face angry as she took a few steps closer to Beast, almost fearlessly. "I am begging you now," she said slowly with clenched teeth. "Let me go."

Beast gulped as he saw how she was clenching her fists, involuntarily taking a step backwards.

Cogsworth immediately stepped forward before the master could agree to a giant mistake. "Belle, if you will follow me, I will show you to your room!" He hoped with all his heart that she would comply.

Lumière and Babette quickly hurried forward too, standing in between Belle and the master. "What a splendid idea!" Lumière quickly added, giving Cogsworth an approving grin. _Smooth._ "We have a lovely guest's room on the first floor, I promise it will not disappoint."

"Fine!" Belle shouted angrily, turning around and heading towards the stairs. She cursed the household objects for being so cruel. _Stupid… talking… junk… _She would much rather try and escape, but she realized she wasn't up for fighting against stone statues five times her size. That would just be insanity.

Cogsworth, Lumière and Babette could not keep up at all with Belle as she hurried through the corridor.

Beast suddenly saw her bag on the floor and picked it up. He sped past the household objects and held it out in front of her. She snapped it out of his claws with a curt "Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" he replied, stopping still as he watched her storm down the stairs, with Cogsworth and the others attempting to keep up with her. She ran into a corridor on the first floor and seemed to complete ignore Cogsworth's warning that it was the wrong corridor.

Beast leaned with his hands against the banisters as he heard Belle and Cogsworth bickering on their way through the castle. Apparently Belle had stormed into the first room with a bed she had found and locked herself in. He grinned at Cogsworth's pleas to get her out and into a more fit room. Anyone that could drive Cogsworth to tears like Belle was doing now, was worthy of his respect.

Beast startled as the silver cart suddenly rolled besides him. Mrs. Potts smiled at him. "She's quite something, isn't she? And that was kind of you, to give her her bag."

Beast watched Mrs. Potts' disturbingly happy expression and made a face as he breathed out heavily through his nostrils. "Don't get any ideas in your head!" he warned her. "I want to state for the record that I _don't _trust any of you!" The feeling that he had been set up was only growing by the minute. Not only made it feel _him_ very uncomfortable, it was just a _horrible _thing to do to an outsider like Belle.

"Well, master, we'd rather take a few precautions, wouldn't we? We wouldn't want to see your head on a tavern's wall or anything like that, right?" Mrs. Potts tried to keep it hidden that she was very pleased that Belle was going to stay in the castle until the rose had withered… And she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Beast roared as he suddenly turned and headed back to the West Wing, growling menacingly as he did so.

_Don't try and fool me with those lies… I know your plan…_

* * *

**Word from the author:** _Once again I need to thank you for your lovely reviews! Twice as many as the first two chapters, that's really making my week! _

_When I started this story I was without a job (and I have been for three weeks, lol) but now I've got a job again (since last week). I hope this won't slow down the writing process. I still have the weekends to write and I'm hoping to keep up a posting rate of about one chapter a week. _

_So thank you again for the beautiful reviews, they make me so happy!_

_Also, something else I feel like I should bring you to your attention... I am intending on drawing Beauty and the Beast fanart for this story. I've uploaded three drawings (kind of inspired by what is to come) yesterday to my DeviantArt account. My username there is CartoonJessie as well. But be warned, if you don't want to be spoiled whatsoever, don't go to check it out. And I've also got BatB fanart there that is NOT inspired by the story, but perhaps you'd like to check it out anyways. Enjoy and until next time!_


	5. Early Birds

**Chapter 5: Early Birds**

Belle had locked herself into the first room she had come upon that appeared to have a bed. And yes, it had a bed, but that was it really. And it was a rather simple bed too. The rest of the room was empty except for the dust and spider webs. It appeared that nobody had been there in years.

Belle ignored Cogsworth's pleas at the door to open up and let him show her to a different room. He promised her a pretty room, with a larger bed, actual curtains, a desk, her very own wardrobe and everything she could wish for. But Belle would have no more. No more of these stupid commands on where to go. As Cogsworth had said before: she was a guest too. A guest _and_ a prisoner! It was just _ridiculous_. She wasn't going to cooperate. The first chance she'd get, she'd leave.

It took a while before it got quiet in the corridor again. Belle took out her bag and sighed. Opening the bag for the first time since she had arrived, she saw it was the one in which she had stored her sketchbook, comb and underwear. That meant that the rest of her clothes were lost in the forest. _Just great._

Belle untied her hair and brushed it, looking out the window. She had to try to get to Philippe… Find out how he was doing. And if he was fit enough, she could try and make a run for it. But she'd have to stay away from those gigantic statues. They were scary beyond all reason. The master had scared her too… But at least his intentions had been… _different_. He had scared her for his own fun and not to command discipline or respect. But she didn't like the idea that what was trapping her in this castle was genuine _fear_. It made her feel weak.

As the night slowly fell and Belle sat quietly on the bed, thinking of what she could possibly do in this situation, she heard another knock on the door. The voice behind the door betrayed it was Mrs. Potts, ready to serve tea. Belle didn't say a word.

"Mama, are you sure she's in this room?" Belle heard Chip's voice cut in curiously.

"Yes dear… She is probably sleeping. Poor thing. We'll return in the morning."

Belle shook her head. She felt like shouting: "I'm not sleeping, I'm ignoring you!" but restrained herself from doing so. Another hour passed and the only light shining was the light that came from the moon outside. Belle sighed as she finally lay down on the bed and tried to catch some sleep.

* * *

Beast sat on his bed, staring at the rose in front of him and replaying what had happened in the reading room over and over again. He couldn't figure out what exactly had happened. At first he hadn't felt like keeping Belle in the castle, but a moment later he had genuinely feared to let her go. But that fear seemed to be gone now. 

So had he really been set up by his servants? Had they planned this all in advance, somewhere in the seven years that they had been cursed? Had they spent many nights in the kitchen talking about: "What to do when a girl enters the castle and the master wants to let her leave?" It just seemed so _cruel_.

A knock on the door and the voice of Mrs. Potts interrupted his thoughts. "Would you like some tea, master?"

Beast kept quiet. He didn't feel like seeing any of his servants for the moment. He felt anger and uncertainty.

"Master, are you there?" Mrs. Potts wasn't used to the master being out of his room at this hour.

"Mama, perhaps he is sleeping too! Just like Belle!" Chip's cheerful voice piped up.

"He's probably out, dear. He'll meet us in the kitchen if he feels like having a cup of tea."

Beast heard the pair of them hop away again and restrained himself from shouting: "I'm not out of my room, I just don't want to speak to your cruel human-imprisoning kind!" But instead, he just sighed.

Should he let Belle go? Despite the agreement that had been made between Cogsworth and himself to keep her here for a month? It wasn't the angry villagers he might bring upon him that scared him… It was the idea of his servants, furious with him letting Belle go, that terrified him beyond all reason. Though he found it hard to admit, it would scare him if they would all hate him. Even if they would hate him for doing something which seemed right to him – for letting Belle go. If they would leave him then, leave him alone in the castle until the day he died… That would be terrifying too. He wouldn't have anyone to scare to death anymore! Complete loneliness was a frightening prospect.

Beast took off his purple cloak and lay down on the bed, using the cloak as a blanket as he stared at the rose. All the servants were hoping for the curse to be broken now. But he didn't _want_ the curse to be broken. He didn't _want_ to transform back and pick up an old routine. He didn't _want_ to fall in love either.

"_Ah, but, master! Love is unpredictable and you never know when it will hit you!"_

Beast shivered as he remembered Lumière's words. They had been spoken to him years before, when he had wanted nothing more than to reverse the curse, but he was no such fool anymore.

What frightened him most was that he didn't trust love's unpredictable ways. He wasn't in love with Belle, but he _liked_ her. Was it wrong to like her if this only meant that it would be easier for love to strike then? But he couldn't help liking her… She seemed to have a strong spirit. She was independent and free, something which he admired. He wished he could be more like that himself. And she had inspired him too! Books! Now _they_ held a world of inspiration for thrills! First thing in the morning, he'd go and look for a skeleton. That should be fun!

He turned around so that the light of the rose wouldn't keep him awake and closed his eyes. Now what dungeon would be most fit for his skeleton-scare?

* * *

Belle awoke as the first light of day shone through the window. It was still very early in the morning and she knew she wouldn't have woken up if she had slept in her own bed at home, with the curtains closed tightly as she had curled up besides a good book. 

This wasn't home for sure and she needed to figure out where Philippe was so she could get out. Combing her hair quickly and tying it back with her blue ribbon, she silently walked over to the door. As she slowly turned the key and opened the door to peek through, she was scared back by the sound of two suits of armors that blocked her way out with their large spears.

"Oh please!" she hissed angrily. "They said I was a _guest_! Can't I even leave the room?!"

The suits of armor didn't budge and Belle slammed the door shut again, locking it tightly. She turned and folded her arms, looking out the window.

_The window!_ Belle quickly ran over to it and opened it. The outside air was rather chilly this early in the morning, but she didn't let that hold her back. She gathered her cape from the bed and put it on before she went back to look at how she could escape. She saw there was a railing she could use to get to a trellis against the wall on which roses grew. It looked like it could serve well as a climbing frame.

Carefully, Belle climbed out the window and stood on the railing, pressing her back against the wall as she carefully and slowly stepped closer to the trellis. Her heart was pounding fast, but she was doing well. She climbed down the trellis quickly and jumped down the last meter, into an empty flowerbed.

As she looked around, she noticed that more statues of gargoyles stood in the garden and she felt a shiver down her spine. Would they too stop her from getting out? Or did they need to be commanded first? Well, she wasn't out yet. First she needed to see if Philippe was fit for travel. If he wasn't, she would have to bide her time. Belle sneaked against the castle walls, keeping her ears pricked for anything unusual she might hear.

She suddenly heard humming and instantly jumped behind a bush. _Who was it?_ Slowly looking over the side of the bush, she saw it was Beast. He seemed to be in his element as he was digging through one of the flowerbeds, using his claws as shovels.

Belle looked for a way around. This part of the garden was surrounded by bushes that were reasonably high and there were two archways out of it... Belle knew she couldn't stand up straight without the chance of being noticed. She'd have to keep as low to the ground as she could. And she would also have to hurry across the archway when he had his back turned. _Or I can just turn around and go back to my room._

Belle gulped. She couldn't just give up like that. After all, this couldn't be hard! He was lost in his thoughts and paying no attention to what was going on around him. Slowly she made her way over to the first archway, crawling as carefully as she could on her hands and knees.

As she reached the archway, she suddenly became aware that the humming had stopped. She felt a little panic as she turned her head carefully around the corner of the bushes. Beast was nowhere to be seen. Where had he gone? Belle slowly backed away again, only to be met by a thunderous roar.

She couldn't help but scream as she lost balance and suddenly fell on her butt. The fear was only short-lived, though, and she quickly turned around and got to her feet, facing Beast, who was grinning like mad, excited that he had scared her a second time.

"I heard you coming a mile away!" he lied. The fact was that he had heard a tiny branch snap as she had been crawling along the bushes and he had decided to sneak up on her from the back. And it had worked wonderfully too!

"Beast! I-I'm sorry," Belle quickly said, apologizing for leaving her room, but Beast didn't seem to pay any attention to her words.

"I really have to hand it to you, Belle – that is the second record you have broken in just two days really!"

Belle frowned a little, then looked at him curiously. "What record?"

"The record of the _earliest_ scare," Beast explained, hurrying back to the empty flowerbed as he continued digging. "It's not even time for tea! I doubt anyone's even awake yet!"

Belle slowly found herself following him to the flowerbed. He didn't really mind that she had left her room, did he? _How odd._ But what was he doing? Belle eyed him, anxious to find out.

A cold wind blew and Belle shivered in her cape. Beast wasn't wearing anything but black pants and a cape as he dug through the ground. "Aren't you cold?" Belle asked.

Beast turned for a moment to look at her. She seemed to be shivering a little. "No," he replied simply. "The fur keeps me warm, you see?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Belle quickly replied, feeling a little silly for asking.

"Nature's way of clothing," Beast chuckled as he dug through the ground. "Like wolves and rabbits have. Have you ever seen them in clothes? I haven't."

Belle couldn't help a little smile, wondering curiously. "Yet you wear pants and a cape."

Beast smirked as he got up from the ground, getting up to face her. "Yeah, well, common decency and stuff. Plus…" He fluttered his cape around. "…capes add to the dramatic effect of a scare, don't you think?"

Belle hated to admit it, but he was kind of intriguing. A bit silly too. She quickly nodded concurringly.

"Though I suppose that I would be able to give a few scares _without_ these clothes as well! Oh, what I'd give to see Mrs. Potts' face to that!" Beast grinned diabolically as he went back to digging. "She wouldn't see that coming!"

Belle laughed awkwardly. He wasn't exactly a gentleman for even talking about ideas like that in front of a lady, if she could consider herself as such. She was no royalty or anything of the sort, but she _was_ used to a little common courtesy.

Deciding to quickly change the subject, she pointed to the heaps of earth in the flowerbed. "Were you looking for something?"

"Yes," Beast answered, brushing off his hands as he got up. Digging deeper in this flowerbed wasn't going to help him much, he figured. He took a little something from the ground and showed it to Belle.

Belle stared at the little skull Beast was holding in between his index finger and thumb. "Oh! A skeleton!" she said with interest.

"Yes!" he replied proudly. "I found it in the flowerbed. I think it's a mouse or something. I'm not really sure… I was hoping to find something a little bit bigger. It just isn't very scary at this size."

Belle shook her head slowly. It seemed a bit too big to be a mouse's head. "Are you sure it's a mouse?"

Beast looked at the skull again. "I think so. It's got long teeth, it's small… I think I'll call him Mickey."

Belle gulped as she noticed how Beast was now petting the skull. "I actually think it's a rabbit."

"A rabbit?" Beast repeated, frowning as he stared at it. "That makes no sense, it doesn't have any long ears or anything at all."

Belle couldn't help smiling as she gently took the skull from Beast's hand. "Well, the head is a bit too big to have belonged to a mouse, I think. And it's only logical that you don't see the ears. There aren't any bones in an ear, are there? So when the flesh rots away, no bones are left."

"No bones in an ear," Beast repeated, a considering expression on his face as he stroked his own ear. "Yeah you're right!" Beast looked at the skeleton head in Belle's hands and shook his head. "It just isn't frightening though, is it? Sure, it's _dead_ and it's got these sharp teeth… Nobody will be scared out of their wits by _this_ thing." Beast touched the rabbit's teeth, only to have one of the teeth fall out of the skull completely. He frowned in an upset matter.

Belle smiled sympathetically. God only knew how long Beast had been digging for a good skeleton and the only thing he had come upon had been a tiny little rabbit head. "I'm sure you'll come up with something else," Belle tried to cheer him up.

Beast wasn't very happy, but he couldn't help shrugging anyways. "Yeah, I suppose…" He put the tiny skull back in the ground and covered it with some earth. "Here lies Roger," he said formally, keeping quiet for a moment.

"Roger?" Belle frowned. "I thought you had named him Mickey?"

Beast shrugged. "Nah… That name just isn't fit for a rabbit." He was back to looking for new inspiration now.

He turned around and walked away, causing Belle to feel a little uncertain. Was he leaving? Where was he going? "Wait!" she quickly said. "Perhaps you can help me? I was looking for the stables."

Beast looked at her as though she had just said something incredibly odd. "On your hands and knees?" he asked.

Belle shook her head in a confused matter. "What do you mean?"

"Well, why were you looking for the stables on your hands and knees when I scared you just a minute ago?"

"Oh!" Belle's face turned a little red. "I was actually… kind of… trying not to disturb you." She fumbled with her hands, hoping that he would not take it as an insult.

"Ah…" Beast smiled, realizing how much she had yet to learn about sneaking around. "Well, you were kind of going the wrong way. The stables are on the other side of the castle! Come, I'll show you a secret passage."

Beast eagerly led the way as he walked by the castle's wall. As they went down a grassy slope, Beast pressed his hands against the wall, feeling for a moment until he found a stone that seemed to stand out rather loosely in the wall. Belle watched as he pushed against the stone and a piece of the wall suddenly slid sideways, revealing an opening just big enough for one person to enter. Beast had to squeeze in. Belle didn't hesitate long before she followed him.

"It's dark here!" she said as the door slid closed again, trying to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, but being unable to see anything.

Though Beast didn't see much more than she did, he knew this place by heart. "Take my hand," he offered as he held it out.

Belle felt in the air. "Where is it?" she asked, just before she grabbed hold of it.

Beast gulped and quickly warned her. "That's my tail."

"Oh! Sorry!" Belle quickly apologized as she let go, allowing Beast to grab her hand. She heard Beast laugh at her mistake and was glad that he couldn't see her flustered face. The underground path they were walking on seemed to be made of coarse stones, for Belle nearly tripped over them twice and barely managed to keep walking on.

As Beast noticed how tensely she was holding his hand and heard the sounds of her stumbling, he slowed down a little. He didn't want her to fall. Perhaps he was walking too fast. He realized that she didn't know this place after all.

"We're nearly out," he tried to assure her, holding one hand in front of him to make sure he would know when they would reach the other wall.

"Good," Belle said anxiously. "I don't like this much. Why isn't there any light?"

"Oh, there's room for torches here, you know," Beast quickly explained. "It's just that nobody uses this passageway these days. No use in lighting them permanently, is there?" Beast felt his hand bump into the wall. "Ah here we are!" he said as he felt the wall for a lever.

Belle couldn't help but bump into him and quickly mumbled: "Sorry…"

As he pulled the lever, a door to the outside seemed to slide open and Beast covered his eyes with his hands. Belle did the same before they finally stepped out and the door slid closed again.

Belle suddenly heard neighing and she smiled as she ran up another grassy slope and saw the stables. "Thank you!" she said as she turned to Beast. "I will leave you be then." Nodding politely, she suddenly quickly hurried off to the stables, not even glancing back at Beast.

Beast was a little confused. Did she want him to go away again? Did _he_ want to go away? Well, she wasn't the boss of him, so he didn't _have_ to go, right? For a minute, Beast stood quietly in the grass, watching her go, before he hurried over to the path to the stables. He hadn't been there in ages.

As he went through the little porch, he came into a rather small room, stuffed with items for tending to the horses. Some of the items were servants, sleeping. Two brushes lay on the table, snoring loudly, and a whip that hung against the wall scratched the little nose he had on his handle.

Beast passed them quietly so they didn't wake up and, as silently as he could, opened the door leading to the actual stables. He heard soft whinnying and peered into one of the stalls. A rocking horse quietly looked back at him, rocking back and forth. Beast gulped, feeling a bit like an intruder in this part of the castle, butall of a suddenhe heard whispering.

Moving quietly along the horse sheds, he finally saw Belle as she leaned with her head against Philippe's, stroking his hair softly as she seemed to be talking to him. Beast couldn't help but smile at that sight, until suddenly Philippe's eyes opened and he glanced up at Beast.

The horse couldn't help but react instinctively and reared, kicking his legs high in the air. Belle gasped for breath and miraculously managed to evade an impact by falling backwards. She quickly crawled out of Philippe's range.

Though Beast stood meters away, he couldn't help but immediately take a step back with his armsin front ofhis head. "I'm sorry!" he quickly said.

Upon realizing Beast was there too, Belle hurried and jumped up, took Philippe's reins, and pulled him down. "Quiet, Philippe," she tried to calm him. "It's all right, he won't harm you…"

As Philippe got back down on all fours, he took a few steps back, blowing heavily through his nostrils.

"I'm really sorry!" Beast apologized again, realizing his appearance had been the cause of Philippe's fright. He had almost caused an accident. Anxiously, he scratched the back of his neck. "I shouldn't have come…"

Belle shook her head. She wondered why he _had_ come, but she could see that he hadn't intended to scare anyone this time. He couldn't help being a beast and she couldn't hold that against him. "It's okay," she said quietly, releasing Philippe's reins and walking over to Beast. "Philippe just doesn't know you."

Beast wanted to take another step backwards as Belle approached him and suddenly took his hand. He gulped as she led him to where Philippe was standing. "Don't be afraid," she whispered quietly as she raised Beast's hand and brought it closer to Philippe's nose.

"I'm not," Beast replied.

Belle giggled. "I was talking to Philippe."

"Oh…" Beast nervously cleared his throat, causing Philippe to anxiously step back and forth.

As Beast finally touched Philippe's nose, the horse seemed to calm down. It quietly looked at the monster that seemed to be petting him. Perhaps it wasn't a monster after all?

A relieved expression dawned on Beast's face as the horse carefully took a step closer, not minding the touch of his hand.

Belle smiled, feeling a little warm inside from watching the scene before her. If Philippe wasn't afraid of Beast, she definitely didn't need to be either. He had a kind soul. Even if he was a little odd too. "See, he likes you," she said softly.

"Are you talking to the horse again?" Beast asked playfully, turning his head slightly to glance at her expression.

She smiled. "No, not this time. Though I do believe the feeling is mutual, right?"

Beast grinned as he let go of Philippe and stepped backwards. "That's a safe presumption."

Belle turned to Philippe again and had her back to Beast as she gently stroked Philippe's mane once more. "I'll be back, Philippe," she whispered to him. She'd be back at nightfall. It was a promise. "Shall we?" she asked Beast as she turned and led the way out of the stables again.

Beast nodded and followed her. He noticed that she too was very careful to not wake any of the servants as they entered the other room. She quietly took a small lantern that stood on the table. It was already lit and the flame inside flickered as she moved it around. Beast didn't dare to ask what she was doing yet, but followed her curiously outside.

Before he had a chance to say anything, she started talking again. "So, could you show me that secret passageway again?" Belle tried not to sound too interested… But if she was going to try to escape soon, that secret passageway would lead her close to the stables. And better yet: she wouldn't pass by too many scary statues.

Beast wondered secretly why she was so interested to see the passageway again. She hadn't seen any other parts of the grounds around the castle yet. Still, he had no problem showing her again. The day was still early. There would be plenty of time for him to do other things later in the day. "Sure," he agreed.

Belle watched closely as he opened the passageway again. This time he tapped a stone that was rather low to the ground. Belle followed him, looking around in the light of the lantern. The ceiling appeared to be two meters above it and it was covered in spider webs. Belle quivered as she noticed a huge spider crawl away from the light and felt shivers run down her spine. When she noticed a few little mice that darted away by the side of the stone wall, she jumped. _Scary._

Beast looked around as well. This secret passageway was a great place to scare somebody. As Beast laid eyes upon something eerie and white lying on the dusty ground against the wall, he came to an abrupt halt.

Belle had to watch out or she would have bumped into him. All of a sudden the lantern got snatched out of her hands and she could do nothing but look as the Beast hurried closer to what appeared to be… a skeleton.

"This is just what I was looking for!" Beast grinned like mad, before he suddenly furrowed his brow. "But what is it exactly?"

Belle stepped closer and studied the skeleton, which seemed to be intact. "I think it's a… dog of sorts."

Beast suddenly gasped as he realized something. "This must be Sultan's mother!"

Belle was confused. "Whose mother?"

"Sultan's!" the Beast quickly said. "She disappeared… Well it must have been eight years ago! We looked all through the palace for her. Sultan was just a pup then."

Belle nodded, though she found it hard to imagine that Beast had a dog. It was so odd… He looked like an animal himself… To have a pet then seemed… strange.

Beast felt some uncertainty. At first he had thought it would be a perfect skeleton to use in a scare, but now it seemed a bit morbid. What if Sultan found out? No, this was just cruel. He got up again and headed towards the exit.

Belle noticed the insecure look on Beast's face as he walked on. She wondered what was bothering him, but didn't dare to ak.They didn't speak until they were outside again. "I'd best return to my room," Belle decided, feeling a little chilled from the outside air, before she blew out the flame that burned in the lantern.

Beast nodded in silence, enjoying the quiet of morning. He too felt like going inside. "Breakfast?" he suggested carefully.

"No, please, no," Belle replied too fast for her own liking. "I mean…" She hadn't intended to sound rude or appalled. "I'm not really hungry." It had been a while since she had eaten anything, so perhaps she wasn't entirely truthful about this, but she wasn't lying either. The excitement and confusion of being in this odd place had knocked all her senses off guard. She didn't know what she felt and quietly walked besides him, following the castle's walls.

Beast gulped as he suddenly became aware of Belle's undertone. She loathed him. Or didn't she? Beast felt a bit muddled. Did she really hate the idea of having to sit through breakfast with him or was there another reason for her repulsing him? He wriggled his hands anxiously. Upon looking at his own claws he understood that he was probably a monster to her. It had taken him years to accept what he had become. He had loathed the beastly form he had been forced to take. He was fine with it now, but it had taken a long time for him to come to terms with his new body. He comforted himself with the thought that his appearance was still new to her and that perhaps she would learn to accept it too.

Belle felt genuinely awful for what she had said and how she had said it. Beast had been kind to her and now he was very quiet, probably deciding to not invite her to anything ever again. And even though Belle was intending to leave that very evening, she did not want him to think she had felt disgusted by him.

Birds chirped in a nearby tree. Its branches were bare and as Belle looked up, she noticed that the birds seemed to be looking back. She smiled as she put her hand on Beasts arm and pointed with her other hand to the birds. "We're like them, see?"

Beast frowned as he followed the direction her hand was pointing to and noticed the birds hopping around the tree, some of them which appeared to be looking at them too. "Birds?" he guessed in confusion.

"Early birds," Belle nodded with a smile. "And you know the saying: it's the early bird that catches the worm."

Beast felt really muddled now. What on earth was she talking about? "What worm?" Beast wondered out loud, looking around to the ground. He hadn't seen any worms yet, not even in the flowerbeds.

Belle doubled up with laughter and let go of his arm again. _He was so clueless sometimes!_ "Not a real worm!" she explained as she tried to suppress a giggle. "The saying means that if you're up early, you sometimes see good things others don't. Well, not exactly, sometimes it can also mean that if you start before the others do, on a job, for example, you will benefit from it." Belle shook her head. She wasconfusing both Beast _and_ herself now. "What I'm trying to say is… I had a lovely morning and it was fun hanging out with you. Thank you for showing me around." Belle came to a halt as she saw they had reached the trellis that led to her room again. "I enjoyed it."

Beast gulped as he was met by this flood of compliments. He was not used to being praised like this and it made him feel uneasy. Yet, at the same time, he felt his heart flutter and swell up with pride. "I-I mean… You're welcome," was all he managed to blurt out before Belle gave him a little bow and turned and walked to the flowerbed.

Beast watched her with large eyes as she suddenly started climbing the trellis. "Wh-what are you doing?" he asked her as he stepped forward, getting the impression that she had to be crazy for using such a way to get into her room. Or was she just taking a shortcut so she wouldn't have to be in his company for a longer period of time? He pushed that thought away. She had just thanked him, after all. Surely she didn't mind to be in his company _that_ much?

"I'm going to my room," Belle replied truthfully, panting a little from climbing the trellis as she reached the railing and slid against the wall to her window.

Beast stood motionless and gazed at her with his mouth wide open as he watched her climb into her window again. Suddenly her head popped out and she appeared to smile at his idiotic expression. "What's wrong with stairs?" he suddenly blurted out.

Belle laughed. "Nothing's wrong with stairs. They're just hard to reach with those two suits of armor in front of my door." She gave Beast a sly look, curious to what his reaction would be to that.

Beast's look grew more serious. "Suits of armor?" he repeated, figuring out that Cogsworth had instructed those to make sure Belle wouldn't run away. Cogsworth was in for a severe shouting. "I think I'm going to have a word with my servants…" Beast murmured.

"What?" Belle asked loudly. She hadn't understood a word.

"I'm going to talk to Cogsworth about that!" Beast called back, loud enough for her to hear this time.

Belle nodded, feeling pleased that she had the trust of at least one person, or rather beast, in this castle. As Belle saw Beast turn and head towards the entrance of the castle, she closed the window again and tried to rub her hands warm. One person trusted her enough to remove the guards in front of her door… It made Belle feel bad that she was already planning on breaching that trust by escaping that night.

* * *

**Word from the author:** _I'd like to thank TrudiRose for betareading this chapter and I'd also like to thank all of you that were kind enough to leave some feedback on the story! Cookies for all of you! _

_Those that had problems getting to my page on DeviantArt, can now easily get there by clicking on my homepage in my profile. It should link you to my page on DeviantArt (and my BatB artwork). _

_Something which I have been wondering, though, is whether all of you are native-English speakers or if some of you are actually foreigners (like myself?) I've got the impression that most people fav'ing the story or reading it are from the US or Britain. Is this so or are there, for example, Dutch people reading this? (Or French or German or Portuguese or Spanish or whatever?) I'm just curious. Let me know in what parts of the world this story is being read. Also let me know what your general impression of my writing style is. Too easy – too hard – average? I'd like to get better at writing so all feedback would be welcome. _

_Next chapter will be... Long. I know because I finished writingit yesterday. Won't post it until I've finished chapter 7 though. For those that like to be spoiled a little, I can give away that the title of the chapter will be "The Servants' Plots". I hope you'll like it!_


	6. The Servants' Plots

**Chapter 6: The Servants' Plots**

"COGSWORTH!" Beast's voice roared through the kitchen as the door flew open and Beast burst through.

All the servants that hadn't been awake yet, now were. The ones that _had_ been awake had quickly hidden in one of the cupboards or underneath the table.

"Master!" Mrs. Potts quickly hurried out of the cupboard, intending to calm Beast down, but she wasn't given the chance.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Beast demanded to know, roaring so loudly that even the lifeless glass in the cupboards quivered. He bared his teeth menacingly before Mrs. Potts, who sadly looked down.

Mrs. Potts avoided looking into the master's eyes. It was at times like this that she found it hard to hold on to hope. Sometimes he seemed completely drained of all kindness inside him. She wondered what had been the fuel for his anger this time. "He's not here," Mrs. Potts replied quietly and subordinately. "He said he was going to make his rounds."

Beast growled and hurried out the kitchen again, roaring Cogsworth's name as he went.

Mrs. Potts shook her head as the other servants dared to emerge from their hiding spots. Every now and then, it was difficult to keep a light heart in this castle.

* * *

"Do you really think a man's mind can work like that?" Babette gave Lumière a skeptical look as she dusted the desk in the room that was meant to become Belle's. 

Lumière lit the oil lamp that stood on the same desk, checking to make sure it burned brightly before blowing out the flame again. "Yes," Lumière nodded. "The master hardly seemed impressed by the fact that she was a woman – still is, I mean. He scared her like he would have scared any of us, not even taking notice of her beauty or anything."

Babette dusted the oil lamp and shook her head as she stopped in front of Lumière. "I understand what you are saying… But just because he doesn't treat her like a lady, doesn't mean he hasn't noticed that she is one?"

Lumière shook his head firmly. "He hasn't noticed. There was no sparkle in his eye, no uncertainty whatsoever… I'm not saying he doesn't like her, I really think he does… But not in the way that any other man would like a woman like Belle… It's as though all he sees in her is a potential playmate."

Babette giggled as she closed the distance between herself and Lumière, looking at him with a tempting expression on her face. "I'd say it is a good thing he looks at her as a _playmate_, non? Is not that how we first saw each other?"

For once, Lumière couldn't flirt along with Babette. He was very serious about this. "I am not talking about _that_ kind of playmate… I am talking about the kind of playmate that likes to play hide and seek in the castle, the kind of playmate he can terrify with his scares, _that_ kind of playmate. He is just like a child!" Lumière seemed pretty upset as he sat down on the edge of the desk. "This curse is not going to break if he does not grow up quickly!"

Babette gently approached him, noticing how his flames seemed to be swelling with anger. It was not like Lumière to be angry like this and it only happened whenever he was out of ideas… But Lumière was never out of ideas _for long_. He would come up with something, she was certain. "All right, but can you blame the master?" she asked kindly as she sat down besides him. "He probably skipped his puberty somehow… He'll make up for it in time."

"Time is what we do not have…" Lumière stared in front of him, focusing on nothing at all. "And the master didn't skip puberty, I suppose. He has brooded for more years in his young life than the both of us have together. His destructive behavior of a few years ago wasn't necessarily puberty kicking in… It was probably just the psychological effect of the curse."

"I wasn't really talking about the brooding part of puberty… I'm talking about the part of puberty where people notice the other sex, not the part of puberty where we tend to think a lot about life and potentially develop a destructive side…" Babette sighed as she tried to articulate her thoughts. "It's just that he never had any women to notice, so he didn't."

"He has Belle to notice now, but it appears that he hasn't! Her beauty doesn't appeal to him for some reason! I can not explain it!" Thoughts of the master's behavior of the day before boggled Lumière. 

Babette let out a short and haughty laugh. "I think I can." 

Lumière looked at her with a curious expression, causing her to smile broadly. 

"As a teenage boy, what kind of women sparked your interest?" Babette prompted, though she figured she knew the answer already.

Lumière dismissed her question. "All kinds of women. What does that matter?"

"Non, non, cheri! Not all women. Not all kinds. Only the _teasing_ kind. And Belle, mon amour, is not a tease."

Lumière thought about what Babette was saying. Somewhere, she was making a point in this. 

"So," Babette continued, thinking about Belle. "She has this little perfect ballerina walk, very sweet and ladylike and everything… A pretty body, which is hidden by too many layers of clothing… And she has beautiful hair, which is tied too neatly with her ribbon…"

"So you're saying…" Lumière thought out loud while a smirk spread on his face. "…that we should bring out her natural beauty for the master to see?"

Babette frowned in confusion. Was that what she had said? She looked at Lumière to see that his gloomy expression had lifted. _He had a plan._ Still, she didn't understand what he had come up with and whispered excitedly: "What are you thinking?"

Lumière hadn't smiled this broadly in years. "Quite simply, what you said. Remove some layers of clothing, remove the ribbons… I doubt we can teach her how to walk differently, but with the right clothes, the emphasis will drop to the right places and the master will notice that she_ is_ a woman."

Babette looked baffled. "We're going to let her walk around the castle half-naked?" 

Lumière laughed. "Ha ha, good idea, but not really. Sort of. We need to get rid of whatever she is wearing now and put her into something more sensual. The sort of clothes _you_ wouldn't mind wearing. That should get the master's attention." Lumière's eyes lit up as he noticed the wardrobe. "Madame!" he suddenly shouted, jumping off the desk. "Madame! Wake up!"

The wardrobe suddenly snored loudly before she slowly opened her eyes, yawning. "Dear me, Lumière, why wake me at this hour of day?"

"It's almost nine," Babette excused Lumière on his behalf. "We need your help. What have you got in your wardrobe?"

The wardrobe seemed very confused by Babette's request, but it only took Lumière and Babette a couple of minutes to explain their idea to her. She was thrilled to be involved and a few moments later they found themselves looking through old and lifeless wardrobes in the neighboring rooms, picking out the most beautiful and sensual dresses they could find. 

"It saddens me to part with my green and pink dress," Madame said dramatically as she hung the dresses in another wardrobe. "They were my favorites."

Babette smiled apologetically. "It is for the greater good. And once you are human again, you can wear them again – yourself!"

"True," Madame replied. "That makes it all worth doing! How about this red dress? It reminds me so much of the pink one… Only showing a bit more…"

"Cleavage, yes," Babette complemented the wardrobe. "I'd wear that one myself… Bare shoulders… The waist seems to be nicely accentuated too… Elegant fabric..."

"Not good for cold weather, though… For indoors. We're just going to have to light fires in the fireplaces so she's warm and comfortable in it."

Lumière quietly enjoyed watching the two ladies pick out the clothes for Belle. He didn't dare to give his opinion just yet. If he'd express his own feelings towards the gorgeous red dress, Babette might not be so keen anymore on letting Belle wear it. 

They continued searching through various wardrobes in the East Wing, picking out several breath-taking dresses.

As they returned to Belle's designated room, Lumière went over the last stages of the plan. "So when she goes to sleep tonight, tell her we'll wash her clothes for her over night. It is unlikely she'd be very hesitant on parting with them. Oh, and don't forget the ribbon too. Just come to us in the kitchen and we'll find a good place to hide them. Then the next morning, say the clothes aren't dry yet and offer her one of your own dresses. Who knows? Perhaps she will even like them better than her blue one!"

Babette was thrilled. Their plan was sure to work. No man alive could resist a woman in such beautiful dresses. And once the master had noticed Belle, he might actually end up in love with her. "The only problem left is to get Belle to this room. She was quite angry last night when she locked herself in that other room. Perhaps she has calmed down enough to consider moving into this one."

"That's Cogsworth's problem to fix. He told me this morning he would convince her to change rooms," Lumière said with a hint of darkness in his usually optimistic tone. The truth was that he didn't trust Cogsworth's talents of persuasion. He hardly dared to think it, but it wasn't unlikely that Belle would remain in the other room if she was still angry with the head of the household. "Let's just hope we get this plan to work before our time runs out!"

* * *

Cogsworth hummed as he made his way through the giant corridors. He was content. Every single servant and magical object had been informed about Belle. The entire castle understood that if they let Belle go, all hope of ever breaking the curse would be lost. Yet, Cogsworth felt cheerful. _Hope!_ It made him feel all fuzzy inside. 

He was on his way back to the kitchen, when he suddenly ran into Mrs. Potts and Chip in the corridors. "Good morning!" he greeted them cheerfully from a distance. "How are you this wonderful day?"

"A lot better off than you will be," Mrs. Potts replied with a raised eyebrow as they hopped over to Cogsworth. "The master has been looking for you."

"Yeah, I think he wants to eat you!" Chip added, fighting hard to hold back his laughter.

Cogsworth gulped. _But why?_ What had he done? "W-why?" he stuttered as quietly as he could, afraid that the master would hear him.

"You tell us, Cogsworth." Mrs. Potts shook her head. "He seemed pretty upset about something. Don't ask me about what."

Cogsworth stared at the floor, feeling genuinely upset. What on earth had he done wrong?

"Well, at least you know he's looking for you now…" Mrs. Potts gave Cogsworth a sympathetic smile. "We'd best be off. My tea's getting cold and I'd hate to leave a bad impression on Belle."

"Ah, yes, Belle…" Cogsworth took a deep breath. "I should try to move her to another room too… But perhaps you could try and see how her mood is today? I'm afraid I'd make things worse if I went to her now… Perhaps some tea would soothe her."

Mrs. Potts nodded warmly. "Don't worry about it, I'll try my best."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potts." Cogsworth sighed deeply. "I don't know where we'd be without you."

As Mrs. Potts and Chip continued their way to Belle's room, Cogsworth headed towards the kitchen, wondering what could have upset the master. It only took a few moments before he heard the master roar his name in one of the corridors. 

"Y-yes, master?" Cogsworth squeaked back cautiously. The master roared at the sound of Cogsworth's voice. Instantly he leaped up the stairs, baring his fangs as he came to a halt before the trembling clock. "I-is there a problem, master?" Cogsworth asked in as unsuspicious a voice he could muster.

Beast bent down until his face was only an inch from Cogsworth's and glared at him. "Remind me, Cogsworth," he started in a threatening voice. "Under which circumstances we agreed to let Belle stay."

Cogsworth was confused. Why was the master asking that question and why was it causing him so much anger? "W-we agreed that she would stay here for a month, m-master," Cogsworth replied in a terrified voice.

Beast growled, looking into Cogsworth's eyes sternly. "Yes. As a guest or as a prisoner?" he demanded to know.

"As a guest, of course!" Cogsworth quickly replied, gulping as he looked at his master's face, which was still furrowed in rage. "R-right?"

Beast backed away slowly, panting with frustration over Cogsworth. His head of the household was an idiot. He claimed that he didn't want Belle to be a prisoner – yet he had put suits of armor in front of her door that prevented her from leaving. Did he even realize that? Or had he just made a mistake? "And would you put suits of armor in front of every guest's door?" Beast hissed, his eyes still burning with fury.

"Y-yes – I mean no!" Cogsworth anxiously looked at his master. "I mean… It was just the first night and… and perhaps she would run away and… she needs a new room too… and she hasn't wanted to talk to me yet since she got to her room and I…"

"So you just lock her up?!" Beast shouted. 

Cogsworth nearly turned red. "She locked herself up too, master! We couldn't get in! I just told some guards to…"

"This is no way to treat a guest!" Beast cried out. "You and Lumière are constantly nagging at _me _about behaving myself and being polite and thoughtful, but you yourselves are clearly ill-qualified to lecture me about those things! I demand you go to her room and order those suits of armor to stand down! We're not going to keep her locked in her room for an entire _month_! And if she decides to lock herself up so she can't be bothered by your constant nagging, then I'll back her up. If I see you make another mistake like that, I will throw you out of a window – a _high_ window!" Beast exhaled heavily through his nostrils, causing Cogsworth to flinch for a second, before he turned around and stormed away again.

Cogsworth felt rather weak and thought he was about to pass out as he saw the master leave. He tried to catch his breathe again, before turning around himself and heading towards Belle's room. _Better do as the master says._

* * *

Beast still felt some anger boiling inside as he walked towards the kitchen. He stopped by one of the giant gargoyle statues in the corridor and started climbing it. It wasn't until he sat safely in the gargoyle's neck, covered on his sides by that statue's huge and eerie wings, that Beast had the time to calm down. 

Beast liked to climb up statues in the palace to find a little peace and quiet to think. Nobody ever bothered him there. Sometimes he grew so tired of his servants bickering and nagging that he needed to get out of the West Wing, where they'd find him and try to engage in conversations with him, lecturing him about how he should behave. Over the years he had become better in avoiding those lectures, but Beast's dislike for those moments had never stopped the servants from finding him.

It hadn't always been like that… There had been a time, before he was a Beast, that he had _had_ to endure all those endless readings about state affairs and civilities. And being no more than a boy, he hadn't always been able to make them stop by shouting or behaving like a brat. The lectures stopped though, for a few years, when he was first turned into a Beast. He had been too incalculable, too savage… No servant had dared to force anything upon him. Servants that had attempted to comfort him had been met by wild roars and the smashing of furniture.

Yet slowly he had come out of that state of anger. Tired of solitude, he had tried to engage with his servants – by scaring them. It was definitely more fun than lectures and also more fun than brooding in the West Wing. But to some of his servants, that new behavior had caused the need for them to tell the master off. And they had begun the lectures again, often without Beast realizing exactly what they were doing. Sometimes he had the impression they were just talking, when Lumière would throw in: "But if you meet a lady…" Somehow it appeared that they were always commanding him what to do in certain situations, even before they had occurred.

_Peace and quiet._ Now was that too much to ask for? 

Upon hearing Chip's voice in the corridor, Beast pricked his ears. It appeared Mrs. Potts and Chip were on their way to the kitchen again. "But Mama, isn't it very rude to ignore us like that?"

"Now, now, Chip. Don't take it personally. She just needs some time."

"How much time?"

"Well, we'll try again at lunch time. She will probably get hungry at _some_ point."

"I just think she's mad at us." 

Chip sighed so loudly that it made Beast smile. He thought it was quite amusing that Belle was giving his servants such a hard time. 

After Mrs. Potts and Chip had disappeared again, Beast lay quietly in the gargoyle's neck, nearly falling asleep until he heard the large clock in the hall strike twelve. Beast perked up and climbed down the gargoyle statue, stretching. He was hungry and decided to make his way to the kitchen. They always had something ready for him by twelve. 

Upon reaching the kitchen, the Beast was met by a tangle of delicious scents. Whatever they had cooked up, they had outdone themselves. He had never seen the kitchen buzzing so with life. He avoided stepping on some plates as they rolled by. He couldn't help staring at the table, which was full of saucers and dishes. 

Mrs. Potts noticed the master had entered and quickly hopped over to him. "Master, what a delight to see you here! I'm afraid we're not yet ready though."

Beast frowned. "It's past twelve!"

"Yes, we know, master. We apologize. It's just that we're cooking for two now, see?" Mrs. Potts smiled sweetly.

Beast's frown didn't leave his face. He could agree to the fact that Belle had to eat too, but he hated that it meant that he would have to wait. "But I'm hungry _now_!" he whined.

"I'm sorry master, but you will have to wait another ten minutes. Why don't you go and fetch Belle in the meanwhile?"

Beast narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Mrs. Potts. So _that_ was her plan. It was not going to work. "No. Because this is just like that tea-incident yesterday and I want to make it very clear to you that I will not do things myself if you can carry out those things for me." He folded his arms firmly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, master," Mrs. Potts said as innocently as she could. "I didn't mean to disrespect you. It just appears that Belle seems to have her mind set on ignoring us. I'm afraid she wouldn't listen to me if I asked her to come down to dinner."

Beast didn't move or betray any emotion. He didn't know if he could trust Mrs. Potts in this… Yet, he had heard the earlier conversation between herself and Chip. Belle _did_ seem to be ignoring them. That was true… But still, it sounded too much like a set-up.

"Please, master, ask her if she wants to come down. She doesn't listen to us. Perhaps you can be more persuasive." Mrs. Potts smiled hopefully. "And by the time you're back, we'll be ready to serve you. In the dining room!" she quickly added. 

Beast rolled his eyes. Great. It seemed he had two choices: either go and try to fetch Belle _or_ stay in the kitchen and argue with Mrs. Potts _about_ going and trying to fetch Belle. "Okay, I'll go and ask her," he agreed in a grumbling tone. "But if she doesn't want to come, I'll be right back!"

Mrs. Potts hesitated, but figured that it would have to do. "Good," she agreed. "Thank you, master."

Beast shook his head as he turned around and left the kitchen again. _She planned this. She had to have planned this. _

* * *

Belle stood in front of her window, looking outside and trying to figure out the fastest way to get to the main gate. She ignored Cogsworth's voice at the door as she felt the key she had tucked away in her apron.

"Miss Belle, please, I beg you for forgiveness. As I have said countless times by now, I have ordered the suits of armor to stand down and they will not harm you."

Belle shook her head. When would he leave her alone? He had been there for what seemed to be an hour.

It remained quiet for a couple of moments on the other side of the door, before Cogsworth started again. "If you come outside, I will lead you to a different room, a better room! One where you can do some… _lacework…_" Belle heard a deep sigh coming from behind the door. "Or whatever it is that ladies nowadays enjoy doing... Please, if you come outside, I will try and make up for my appalling behavior."

He was starting to get to her, Belle had to admit. He sounded genuinely sorry and upset for initially calling the suits of armor… Yet Belle didn't want to move out of the room. She knew that in this room, she had a way to get out. If she ended up having to move to another one, she would have to look for a new means of escape.

Suddenly Beast's voice was heard from the corridor. "Cogsworth!" Belle couldn't help but turn towards the door as Beast went on angrily. "I demand to know what you are doing here?"

"M-master, I-I was…"

"Leave!" 

Belle gulped at Beast's fiercely aggressive tone. She couldn't help but wonder if he was angry with her for staying in her room.

There was silence for a few moments until a pounding on the door startled Belle. Belle quickly hurried to the door, but she didn't dare to open it yet and stood there quietly.

"Belle?"

His voice didn't seem as aggressive this time. Perhaps he wasn't mad at her? "Yes?" she replied insecurely. She heard a deep sigh on the other side of the door, as though Beast was thinking, until he suddenly said: "Dinner's ready. You hungry?"

Unsure what she should do or say, she found her hand creeping inside the pocket of her apron to get the key out. She opened the door slightly and looked at Beast through the chink. He didn't look mad, just a little disturbed by something, and she opened the door even further. Belle had to be honest: she hadn't eaten anything decent for well over a day now, and she was starving. She nodded slowly. "A little, yes."

Looking at Belle, Beast couldn't help but feel a growing sense of pride. He had managed to get Belle to open her door just by… doing nothing special really. She liked him more than she liked the servants, and even though that was probably what the servants wanted, it made Beast feel happy. He couldn't explain why she had listened to him, yet he smiled. "Good," he said cheerfully. "I'll race you to the kitchen!"

Belle felt dazed as she saw him suddenly hurry off through the corridor. She stepped out of the room and quickly locked the door behind her before she ran after him, seeing him turn a corner. "Wait!" she called out. "I don't even know where the kitchen is!" Belle slowed down as she turned the corner herself, wondering where exactly Beast had gone. She folded her arms as she walked through the corridor, looking around. "That's cheating, you know!" she called out, not sure if he was still close enough to hear. When her eyes met one of the huge curtains that hung in front of the window, she thought she saw something move.

_Figures._ Did he honestly think he could scare her again, from a pathetic hiding spot like that?

Belle noticed how her own shoes were making an awful lot of noise as she walked through the corridor and took them off slowly and carefully as she continued walking closer to the curtain. She could clearly see the Beast-shaped bulge as she sneaked closer. He was probably listening to discern if she was near yet, but her soft breathing and soundless steps didn't betray her position. 

Belle smirked. She had him now. Suddenly she hit the curtain somewhere where his arm had to be, slamming her shoes into him.

Beast gasped and jumped from his hiding spot, withdrawing the curtain and looking at Belle with a surprised and slightly angry expression. "What did you do that for?" he demanded to know.

Belle raised an eyebrow. _Seriously?_ Did he think it was okay to scare people like that? "Well, it's not nice to try and scare a lady like you do," she defended herself.

Beast had to admit: she had guts. He smiled challengingly. "No, but I suppose it _is_ totally lady-like to hit someone with…" Beast looked at what she held in her hands. "…shoes?!"

Belle quickly put them back on and folded her arms defensively once more. "Don't tell me you expect me to let you jump and roar at me even when I know where you are hiding?"

Beast furrowed his brow. He had messed up. He should have looked for a better hiding spot. Still, he had his honor to defend here. "You could have just said: I see you!" Beast suggested. "But I suppose you thought it was a lot more fun to just hit me, right?"

Now it was Belle's turn to turn red. She hadn't even considered saying that, but he was so… _childish_! Something inside of her had only thought of playing along instead of looking for a more mature solution. And actually, it _had_ been more fun. "Yes," she said shortly, avoiding his gaze.

_Odd._ Beast hadn't expected her to admit it. He nodded shortly. "Anyway, let's go to the dining room!" Beast excitedly hurried away again, running on his hands and feet.

Belle had no choice but to run her hardest to keep up with him. She couldn't jump off the stairs like he did, though, but he didn't seem to mind waiting for her in the main hall and giving her a chance to catch up.

By the time they finally arrived in the dining room, Belle was out of breath. Beast hurried to his chair and sat down, stretching his arms above his head until he suddenly noticed the table. He had never seen so many silver spoons, forks and knives besides his plate and eyed the table in suspicion. There was a beautiful bouquet on the table and several candles were lit.

Belle, who was leaning against her chair for a bit of support as she tried to catch her breath, was suddenly met by wonderful scents that seemed to come from the kitchen. She eyed the door between the kitchen and dining room curiously. "It smells very good," she admitted.

"Yes," Beast said dismissively, wondering what was taking his servants so long. He was starving and still there was no food on the table. "HEY!" he suddenly shouted. "WHERE'S THE FOOD?"

Belle couldn't help but smile. His lack of manners struck her as kind of comical. 

The door swung open and Cogsworth quickly entered, freezing for a moment as he saw Belle standing by her chair and the master sitting carelessly in his. "Master! Miss Belle! What a delight to see you! We…"

Cogsworth couldn't finish his sentence as a silver cart suddenly raced through the door, not noticing the clock and accidentally pushing it, causing the head of the household to fall to the floor. 

Cogsworth was about to get up when suddenly four hatstands, who were serving as waiters, came walking through the door and one of them unknowingly kicked the clock, making it slide until it ended up underneath the table.

"Good to see you, Belle," Mrs. Potts welcomed her from the silver cart. "Are you hungry, dear?"

"Yes, a little," Belle replied gently as one of the hatstands pulled back her chair and allowed her to sit. "Thank you," she said to the hatstand, which seemed to bow a little before it went into the kitchen again. 

Two other hatstands poured them something to drink in their chalices. Belle gulped as she noticed it was red wine. She wasn't fond of wine, yet nodded as gratefully as she could. 

"Would you like a bite to eat first?" Mrs. Potts asked as the last hatstand bent down with a saucer filled with tiny yet tasty snacks. 

"Oh, yes, thank you!" Belle eagerly took one of the hot pasty salmon snacks, blowing gently before she tried it.

In the meanwhile the hatstand had made his way over to Beast, who was looking at the saucer with a raised eyebrow. "Cogsworth!" he called out. "What on earth is this?"

"Wh-why it's just some hors d'oeuvres, sir," Cogsworth answered anxiously as he crawled out from beneath the table and used the table cloth to climb on top. "The chef's specialty! It's before the entrée and soup and the main course and the dessert and the tea, of course!"

"Fine then…" Beast muttered. He wasn't used to this. He swept the dozen snacks off the saucer into his hand and swallowed them down in one go. For a moment he looked perfectly alright, until he felt a burning sensation in his stomach and reached for his chalice of wine. 

Belle was staring at him with her mouth open, watching as he reached for his drink and gulped it down in what must have been less than a second. She had lost track of counting the mistakes in etiquette he had made ever since he had sat down.

"What's this ghastly drink?!" Beast demanded to know as he put the chalice down with a loud smack.

"It's wine, sir," Cogsworth answered nervously as he looked from Belle's amazed expression to Beast's irritated one. 

"WINE?!" Beast let out a short roar. "Since when do I drink wine?! Get me apple juice! NOW!"

The silver cart hurried back to the kitchen and so did the remaining hatstands.

"Anything we can get you?" Cogsworth asked Belle in a smile as the corners of his mouth trembled.

It was clear to Belle that Cogsworth's nerves were worn to shreds. She felt quite sorry for the clock. "No, I'm all right," she quickly thanked him, before she hesitated. "Though I wouldn't mind trying some of that apple juice as well. I-I'm not very good with wine," she added hastily.

Beast glanced at Belle with a curious expression. It was a little bit odd to realize she had a similar taste, if even it was just in… apple juice. 

In the meanwhile it was chaos in the kitchen. Lumière was pacing nervously by the door to the dining room. "This is horrible…" he muttered. "He sat down before she did… He just… _ate_ all the hors d'oeuvres! And yelling at Cogsworth in Belle's presence… Acting childishly… He's behaving like a… a…"

"Monster of sorts," Babette added, peeking through the opening in the door as Cogsworth entered nervously.

"Apple juice!" the clock called. "Have we got any apple juice?" Cogsworth sped past Lumière and Babette, anxiously looking for someone that could help him. 

"I can't help the feeling that this is going to be a disaster," Lumière sighed. "Perhaps we shouldn't have pushed him like this. Perhaps it would have been better to give him some more lessons on etiquette before letting Belle sit at the same table with him. I mean… _my_ stomach is getting upset from just watching this! What are we letting the girl endure?"

"I think she looks all right," Babette tried to cheer up Lumière. "If anything, she seems to find it amusing to a certain degree. She doesn't seem to be on the verge of tears."

Lumière couldn't help eating himself up inside as he paced in front of the kitchen door, glimpsing inside to see how Belle was doing. 

Belle smiled at Beast, who looked a little bored, as they served the entrée, which Cogsworth described as 'Ham Filo Roll'. Belle was curious what the taste was like, but seeing Beast suddenly gulp down everything on his entire plate in a matter of seconds, made her hesitate. When he started licking his plate, Belle accidentally dropped her fork from the shock.

Beast was still hungry. What was the use of these small dishes? He saw Belle was looking for her fork underneath the table and noticed she hadn't touched her plate yet. "You gonna finish that?" he asked as he pointed to the plate.

"Yes!" Belle said quickly as she surfaced again with her fork back in her hand. 

Beast moaned. He was still hungry. "WHERE'S THE SOUP?" he yelled loud enough for everyone in the kitchen to hear.

Lumière had started hitting his head against the door, accidentally leaving scorch marks on the wood from his flame, while Babette anxiously waited for the situation to brighten. 

Belle had started eating her entrée and couldn't help but feel like Beast was staring at her. 

"You eat very slowly," he suddenly remarked, looking at her curiously.

Belle chewed slowly as she took the time to come up with something to say. "Yes," she nodded. "It gives me more time to… savor the flavors."

"Ah…" Beast said quietly, not sure what to say next. Instead he turned to the door again. "HEY, I ASKED WHERE THE SOUP IS!"

The door swung open and Cogsworth entered nervously, giving a little bow. "Just a minute, master. It's nearly ready." He couldn't help but glance at Belle while Beast moaned about waiting, surprised she still had enough stomach to eat. Then he turned and hurried back into the kitchen.

Belle had just finished her entrée when the soup arrived, as well as the apple juice. The hatstands poured Belle and Beast two bowls and before Belle had picked up her spoon, Beast was already slurping down his soup. Belle averted her eyes and tried to focus on her own soup. It was hard to actually enjoy it in the company of someone as uncivilized as Beast. It was obvious that he wasn't used to eating in the company of others, but she couldn't decide on whom to feel most sorry for in this situation: Beast or herself. 

As Beast finished his bowl, he looked at Belle again. She had hardly even started! _Man, she eats slowly… _Beast wanted to order his servants to fill up his bowl again, until he suddenly noticed the tension coming from Belle. Her shoulders seemed tense and she even had a frown on her face, as though she was feeling bad. Perhaps she didn't like the soup? "Do you like your soup?" he asked carefully, afraid to ask anything wrong.

Belle was startled by the question and looked up. "Yes, yes," she quickly responded, though that wasn't entirely true. She had been so busy thinking that she hadn't even noticed which soup she was actually eating. She resumed eating her soup without looking at Beast.

Beast felt a little uncomfortable. She didn't seem amused or happy at all. Was she scared? Beast hesitated before he addressed one of the hatstands. "Some more soup? Eh… _Please_?"

Belle couldn't help but look up from her bowl. He hadn't shouted for once. And he had even said 'please'! She watched as the hatstand filled up his bowl again. Beast didn't say 'thank you', but at least he didn't snatch the bowl away from the hatstand either. Belle held her breath as Beast raised the bowl and took a sip, still slurping rather loudly. She couldn't help but wince involuntarily at the sound. 

Beast noticed this. Was that why she was so tense? Because he was slurping? Beast furrowed his brow as he took some time to think about it. Perhaps she'd be more comfortable and happy if he tried some better to mind his manners. Maybe that was why Lumière and Cogsworth were always hammering on about behaving at a table. Well, it was worth a try. Beast gently lifted his bowl and sipped his soup, trying his hardest not to slurp. He noticed that Belle was watching him and it made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Belle, however, started feeling a bit more relaxed. And it was more enjoyable to eat soup without anyone slurping at the table. This time they finished at about the same time and Beast kept quiet. He didn't shout for anything, even though he did wonder where on earth the main course was. 

Belle didn't understand where Beast's sudden change in behavior had come from. One moment he acted as if he owned the place (which he did, but still) and the next moment it seemed like he was trying to keep so still so he could blend in with the wallpaper. Both types of behavior made Belle uncomfortable. 

"Do they always cook this well?" Belle asked Beast a little nervously.

Beast gulped. If he had to be honest, he couldn't say yes… They did cook, yes, but he hadn't seen them slave away like today in ages. "Yeah, sort of," he replied shortly, letting his eyes dart across the empty room. Where were the servants?

The door suddenly opened and the hatstands came in again, putting large trays on the table filled with brightly-colored vegetables. Belle gulped. Surely they didn't expect the two of them to eat four gigantic trays with vegetables? The hatstands disappeared in the kitchen for a moment before they returned with two large plates. They served one to Beast and the other to Belle before they bowed and retreated themselves in the kitchen. 

Belle's mouth dropped as she saw what was lying on her plate. Beast seemed to look at the food in horror. "What on earth is this?" he whispered quietly, more to himself than to anyone else. 

Belle was surprised that Beast seemed as shocked as she was. She had expected him to be familiar with the dish. "I… I think it's lobster," she replied quietly, afraid anyone in the kitchen might overhear her. 

"Lobster?" Beast repeated as he took a knife and poked the huge and red lobster on his plate. "Are you sure it's dead?"

Belle tried her hardest not to giggle. "I think so, yes…"

"How are we supposed to eat this?" Beast wondered, picking up the lobster from his plate with his bare hands as though he was about to eat a sandwich. 

"Not like that!" Belle quickly said before Beast could sink his teeth in the scales. "I think we're supposed to… crack it open or something."

Beast put down his lobster again as he watched closely what Belle was doing. She didn't seem to like the idea of cracking open the lobster and pulled a face as it suddenly snapped open, only to have a bit of the meat fly out and hit Beast in…

"My eye!" he suddenly wailed, trying to get the tiny peace of meat off his face.

Belle had only managed to gasp and put down her lobster as she looked at Beast in shock. "Are you alright?" she asked in a concerned voice.

Beast tried to compose himself again as he realized he could still very well see with both of his eyes. However, he didn't reply to Belle. Instead he smiled mischievously at Belle and took his own lobster in his hands.

Belle, realizing what Beast was planning, raised her hands. "No, Beast, I…" But she had barely said a word or Beast had cracked open his lobster and several small pieces of the meat splattered on her dress and in her hair. The look that etched her face the next moment was not amused, but she had not heard Beast laugh this loud since they had met. He nearly seemed to be hiccupping with laughter and Belle shook her head as she plucked the peaces of meat from her dress and put them on her plate, besides the lobster. 

"So you think that's funny, huh?" she replied, looking around the table. Her eyes fell on a plate that had peas and carrots on it. She took her spoon and filled it with peas, before she suddenly shot the entire content in Beast's direction. 

Beast's laughter stopped as he was hit all over with tiny little peas and he too scanned the table. He dug his hands in a bowl of lettuce and took it out, then tried to throw it at Belle. The lettuce, however, didn't make for a good throwing projectile and it landed half-way on the table, causing Belle to laugh. 

"You had honestly expected to hit me with that?" Belle teased, only to see Beast furrow his brow and pick up his lobster again. Belle suddenly gulped and screamed as she ducked underneath the table, only barely missing the lobster that Beast had thrown across the table. As the lobster landed in Belle's now empty chair, Belle quickly picked it up and hurled it back. It didn't miss its target and hit Beast in the chest. He winced loudly in pain and started wailing. 

Belle turned red as she realized she had actually hurt him and quickly hurried towards him. "I'm sorry!" she tried to apologize, trying to face him, but he kept on turning his back to her. 

Beast smirked diabolically as he pretended to be in pain. Belle was trying to come face to face with him, but as she was turning around him, she hadn't noticed he had taken his chalice of apple juice of the table. 

"Please, let me have a look," Belle urged as she finally came to face Beast again. When she saw his mischievous expression, she realized she had better kept her distance and when she suddenly felt a cool liquid streaming over her head, she knew she had fallen right into his trap. 

As Belle winced as she got drenched in apple juice, Beast couldn't help laughing again. "_I am so totally winning this!_" he thought to himself, enjoying the game.

Belle tried to keep her cool, as much as that was possible in the situation. She felt incredibly dirty now that she was covered in sticky apple juice, but it meant that she was only out for one thing now: _revenge_. Belle hurried to a little bowl which had some creamy-colored sauce in it and hurled its contents towards Beast. His laugh turned into a growl as he got covered in some sort of dressing and Belle shrieked as she made her way over to the other side of the table, trying to keep Beast at a distance.

In the meanwhile, Babette grew curious as she heard odd noises coming from the other side of the door. "What _are_ they doing in there?" she muttered to herself. 

Lumière and Cogsworth were too busy bickering to notice anything else besides their own argument.

"We do not have time for _waiting_, Lumière, by the time the master learns some manners, the last petal will have fallen. Besides, it's too late to have them dine separately now!"

"That's not what I mean, you conceited clock! We need to have a word with the master and _quick_! His chances of making her fall in love with him are diminishing with every minute we're forcing the two of them to sit together at dinner! He has _no_ idea on how to behave properly in front of a lady!"

"I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt! I don't think he is doing as badly as you're implying! After all: he was the only one that managed to get Belle down for dinner. That's saying _something_! I say we give him some pointers _later_. Not now!"

The two of them stopped when they suddenly heard an ear-deafening roar coming from the dining room. 

"What's going on in there?" Cogsworth wondered in an anxious voice as he hurried to the door.

"That is what I have been wondering for the last ten minutes!" Babette replied, gulping. She had heard some odd sounds and didn't know if she actually _wanted_ to find out what was going on in there. 

Lumière and Babette followed Cogsworth through the door and came to an abrupt halt as they took in the sight of the dining room. 

Belle gasped as she realized they were no longer alone and she dropped the long baguette she had intended on using as a weapon to the floor. A blush spread across her cheeks. She couldn't believe she had let it get this far. The entire dining room was a mess and there appeared to have been a vegetable massacre around the table. She felt incredibly ashamed all of a sudden and quickly cast her eyes downwards. 

Beast saw how Belle suddenly stopped just as she had been about to hit him with a baguette and he turned to see what had caused her to stop. As he saw Cogsworth, Babette and Lumière gazing at them with their mouths open, he was overcome by a feeling of defense. He knew those gazes… It meant that they were too shocked to speak right now, but he was going to be in for a terrific scolding later on. He wiped some mayonnaise of his face and pointed to Belle as he defended himself. "She started it!"

Belle gasped a little as she turned to Beast. True, she had been responsible for the first bits of food flying across the room, but she had never intended it to amount to a food fight this size. "By accident!" she quickly defended herself. "I'm sorry! I… I…"

Beast frowned. Was she going to blame it on _him_ now? Did she even realize the dullness of the sermons he was sure to get for this? If she was going to blame him for _all_ of it now, he was _never_ having dinner with her again!

"I got carried away…" she apologized, glancing quickly at the three members of the household staff. "I'm very, very sorry. I meant no disrespect." Belle felt deeply ashamed for the mess she had created. It had to be horrible for the chef to hear that his creations had been used in a food fight. She was very uneasy with herself for having shown such uncivilized behavior.

"Apology accepted," Lumière replied, being the first to have found his tongue again. Babette and Cogsworth were still too baffled to say a word, though Cogsworth did seem outraged that Lumière would let it slide just like that.

"I got carried away too!" Beast quickly said, noticing how Belle's words had caused Lumière to forgive her. Perhaps, if he repeated what she had said, they would let the lecture pass. "I am sorry too," Beast said slowly and with a hint of hesitation audible in his voice. "I didn't mean to make a mess."

Lumière was surprised to hear the master apologize. He never _ever_ did. It was interesting to see Belle's words mirrored in his. She seemed to be rubbing off on him in some way… Perhaps not in the way Lumière would prefer, but it could only be a step forward that the master had apologized in such a friendly manner. 

Babette was eyeing Belle and her blue dress and she couldn't resist a smile as she noticed the numerous stains over it. Their little food fight seemed like the perfect cue for her_ own_ plan. Belle looked like a complete mess. Babette scraped her voice. "Excusez-moi, mademoiselle Belle, but perhaps you would like to freshen up a little bit? I could have a bath prepared for you in ten minutes and find you some _cleaner_ clothes, if you would let me."

Belle nodded gratefully. "Oh, thank you, I would appreciate that."

Babette nodded as well and bowed her head in return. "I shall be back to fetch you in a little while." With those words she hurried out of the room. 

Lumière couldn't help a grin himself. He couldn't have come up with a better excuse to get Belle out of that blue dress himself. The food fight hadn't been such a disastrous idea after all. "Master, I shall prepare a bath for you in the West Wing. And I think you will need a new cloak as well…"

Beast looked at the stains on his cape and pulled a face. The purple cloak had been his favorite one. He hated the idea of parting with it… But he _had_ brought it upon himself… "Fine," he muttered darkly as he took of his cape, wiped his face clean with it as though the cape was a towel, and threw it towards Lumière. It covered both Lumière and Cogsworth and Beast continued talking as they tried to make their way out from underneath it. "Find me a new one. That size exactly. And the exact fabric. Preferably purple." Beast thought for a moment as he glanced at Belle and her dress. "Or blue. I don't mind blue."

"Right away, monsieur!" Lumière said as he dragged the cape with him and left the same way Babette had done. 

Belle glanced at Beast for a second and smiled. She thought it was kind of funny that he liked blue as well. It was nice to know they had something in common, even if it was only favorite colors.

Cogsworth was still speechless. The master's apology just hadn't done it for him. He was still fuming. And now the master had just taken off his cloak in front of Belle. What was he putting the girl through? It was cruel enough that she had to stay in the company of a Beast – the least the master could do was dress properly or at least restrain himself from taking off his clothes in her presence. It was a visual Cogsworth didn't want to girl to get nightmares from. 

Belle, however, didn't mind at all and wasn't about to lose sleep over it. 

"Cogsworth, dessert! Quickly!" Beast ordered as he went over to the fireplace and sat down in front of it, not even checking if Cogsworth could cope with it.

Cogsworth just frowned and turned as he headed to the kitchen. Beast was in for a lecture, but not in front of Belle.

Belle sat down besides Beast as Cogsworth left, leaving the two of them alone again. Even though she still felt as though she was a horrible person for engaging in something as childish and rude as a food fight, another part of her couldn't help smiling. "I'm very sorry for your cape," she apologized quickly, causing Beast to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Don't apologize for that," he replied dismissively and seriously, pointing at her stained dress. "I'd say we're pretty even." Beast's expression relaxed, however, when he saw Belle was smiling still and he returned that smile.

They sat by the fire quietly until the silver cart brought them two bowls of raisin pudding. Both of them ate it quietly, glancing at each other every now and then, not sure what to say to one another. But they were both fine with the silence and just stared into the flames, enjoying the sound of the crackling fire. When Lumière appeared again to fetch the master, Beast hesitated before leaving the room. Unsure of what to say to someone in a situation like this, he scratched his neck. "I… I hope you'll enjoy your bath," he tried to say as politely as he could. "I hope you will like the new dress Babette is getting for you…" Beast didn't know whether to say more or just leave the room, but Belle interrupted him before he could do either.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. "Both you and your servants. For the good care I'm receiving." She smiled warmly at Beast, even though inside something was turning around. The thanks didn't feel like a lie, but the idea that she could not stay and was planning an escape suddenly didn't feel as releasing as it had felt that morning. She felt like a traitor of sorts.

"You're welcome," Beast replied, not noticing Belle's hesitation. He was glad that his fur covered any blush that could have spread across his cheeks. "Bye!" He quickly waved and then left the room, thinking it must have looked really stupid to wave like that.

Belle smiled still as Beast left with Lumière and she turned to the fire. She hated the idea of hurting anyone's feelings by leaving… Especially Beast's… But she just couldn't stay… She had to stick to her plan now. She hoped Beast and the servants would come to understand why she couldn't stay. But more than that, she hoped that she would never be haunted by the 'what-ifs' of staying. There were two paths in front of her and it seemed that both promised her adventure. She hoped that by carrying out the plan of her escape, she would not come to regret leaving behind the adventure of staying in a magical castle.

* * *

**Word from the author:** _This chapter is a little earlier than usual, but I just wanted to post this now as a way to wish you all a Happy Easter! I do hope you all enjoyed the chapter and do stay tuned for the next one! (It will be another long one!) Please review (comments feed the muse, as they say) and don't be afraid to be critical if you feel a need to. I won't bite. (Hard) _

_I also feel a need to give a more personal reply to three of the reviews, so please… Ehm… Feel free to skip this. _

_Jack-really bad eggs: Thank you for the review! And it's funny you point out a resemblance between Beast and Jack Sparrow in my fic. At first it confused me a little, but I do believe you've got a point. They are quite alike. People do tend to judge them both before they get to know them. And the both of them are good men inside. So yeah, I do see a resemblance now. Clever!_

_Becca: A French person reading this? Cool! Could come in handy too. As a Flemish Belgian, Dutch is my mother language and French is my second language (though I can't say I speak it better than English). If ever you see an error in any French word or phrase I use, please do correct me. And why not post your own story? You never know if something is going to be successful or not, but you will never know unless you try and the feedback is only going to help you improve. Don't be afraid to post something because you're foreign. And a BatB-story from your view could be even more interesting because you are actually French (perhaps even from the area of the Provence?) and that's something which could give your story a more realistic edge. Just go for it!_

_Glowworm: Cookie for being the first to get the Mickey Mouse/Roger Rabbit reference! I thought it could be fun to put a "hidden Mickey" in the fanfic. _


	7. The Escape

**Chapter 7: The Escape**

Belle combed through her wet hair as she sat on the bed and looked around. Babette had shown her to another room to take a bath. A talking wardrobe had left along with Babette to give Belle some privacy and something about the way they had talked to her had told her they actually wanted her to move into _this_ room. But in their absence, Belle had already noticed that the balcony that came with the room made an escape impossible. She would have to find a way to return to her first room… as soon as she was dressed properly.

Wearing only underwear, Belle walked barefoot to her blue dress, which lay stained and sticky on the floor. She carefully took the key out of her apron. She would have to tuck it away _somewhere_ and gulped as she hid it in her corset. At least nobody was going to find it there. She would need the key to get back into her first room, but before that, she would need some proper clothes.

She slowly opened the door and peeked outside. Babette and the wardrobe were in the hallway, talking to each other quietly, but they stopped immediately when they saw Belle in the doorway.

"Did you have a nice bath, mademoiselle?" Babette asked politely and Belle nodded in return.

"Yes, thank you for asking. I'd like to get some clothes now, if that's alright."

Babette and the wardrobe entered the room again. Babette couldn't help a sigh as she looked at Belle. She had legs, arms, boobs… Everything a woman was supposed to have. Babette felt a hint of jealousy, even though she knew it was unfair to Belle to feel this way. But it felt unfair to Babette too that she was trapped in the form of a feather duster. She had to try to help Belle lift the curse.

The wardrobe had barely squeezed through the door when she flew open her doors and started calling out excitedly: "Have a look, Mademoiselle Belle! I've got some gorgeous dresses in which I'm sure you'll look lovely!"

Belle smiled kindly, although she was a bit taken aback by the loud voice of the wardrobe. She seemed eager to help, but it made Belle uncomfortable. Belle didn't hesitate though as she browsed through the clothes in the wardrobe. The fabrics were beautiful and elegant, but Belle couldn't help but turn a little red at their style. The dresses were so… _revealing_! She didn't know if she would feel at ease in them.

Babette noticed Belle's sudden hesitation as she saw the young woman go through the same clothes for a third time. "Is something wrong, mademoiselle?" Babette tried to inquire.

Belle shook her head quickly, even though she thought something _was_ wrong. The dresses were so unlike anything she had ever worn! "No, no, not really!" Belle gulped. She just couldn't wear these dresses! "But eh… Isn't this a little bit too cold… in the chest area? I'd… hate to get sick."

Babette saw through the excuses. Belle appeared to be a little prim… But she knew that few women weren't. It was nothing Babette couldn't overcome. "I know what you are thinking, Mademoiselle Belle… You are afraid you will not be decent. I know you can not be worried about looking ugly in these dresses. You are absolutely beautiful and those dresses will bring out your beauty even more so. Tell you what… Try them on… All of them. I am convinced that you will fall in love with at least one of them. You haven't lived until you have tried on one of these dresses!"

Belle was a little bit taken aback by Babette's suggestion, but the feather duster _did_ make it sound intriguing. And Belle _was_ a little curious. She had never ever worn dresses like those. Slowly she took out a red dress, not noticing how Babette's eyes lit up as she held it in front of her. "This fabric is so soft," she admitted, letting her fingertips slide over the satin. "I think I will try this one on first…"

"Excellent choice!" the wardrobe complimented her. "I would have picked the very same one myself!"

Babette and the wardrobe watched eagerly as Belle put on the dress and gasped when she turned around, finished. The bodice was made of the finest silk, but dark-red threads shaped like vines decorated the sides of it and ended in two small roses at the bottom. The skirt was simple, were it not for the various layers of red satin fabric that covered the back in a smart way.

"You are absolutely gorgeous!" Babette said dreamily, secretly imagining she was the one wearing the dress. "You look just like a princess!"

"Here, put this in your hair!" the wardrobe suggested as she opened one of her drawers and showed a comb with a red rose on it.

Belle took it out and put the hair slide in on the side of her hair. "Like this?" she asked, looking at Babette and the wardrobe for approval.

"Yes! Stunning! What do you think of yourself?" Babette asked curiously.

Belle blushed. "Hard to say without a mirror…"

The wardrobe quickly swung open one of her doors, revealing a mirror that was stuck on the inside. "Have a look, dearest!"

Belle took a step forward and couldn't help a smile as she looked at her reflection. She had always known she was beautiful, she just didn't always _feel_ like she was. This was a different experience. Belle figured that the dress _had_ to be magical, for it made her feel special. Special in a way that she was okay with. Not special like she had felt in her home town, as though she had been a freak.

"Well, are you going to say something?" the wardrobe wondered, grinning.

"I'm… speechless," Belle admitted, still looking at herself in the mirror while her hands played with the soft satin layers on her skirt. "I don't know if I'll ever want to take this one off."

"You won't have to!" Babette assured Belle quickly. "You can wear it as much and as long as you like!"

"It would need to get washed at _some_ point though…" the wardrobe interrupted as she frowned.

Babette and Belle both laughed. "Hmm… Yes," Belle smiled. "I think I'll wear this one for now and try on the others another time…"

Belle turned her gaze away from the mirror and looked around in the room. Something inside of her felt bad for playing princess at this moment. But she would have to keep this up for a little while longer. It wasn't dark just yet and this was not the time for her escape. But she would have to be ready. And she would have to get out of this room.

"Is it okay if I go for a little walk?" Belle asked quickly. "To see if the dress isn't too cold?"

The wardrobe was about to hesitate, but Babette cut in. "Of course it is! Let us know if there is any way in which we can help you!"

Belle nodded politely before she left the room. "Thank you!"

The wardrobe turned to Babette and hissed quietly: "Are you sure it's a good idea to let her wander around the castle?"

"Why not?" Babette replied slyly. "What's the worst thing that could happen? If we're lucky, she'll run into the master like that…"

"Lucky?" the wardrobe repeated in a confused matter. "What do you mean _lucky_, the master…" All of a sudden the wardrobe fell silent as she remembered the plan and she smiled devilishly. "Oh _right_… We wouldn't want her to _accidentally_ run into the master like that…"

Babette and the wardrobe both laughed, glad that their plan was working.

* * *

"I still think it's a miracle she didn't get _sick_, the way you were behaving, master! I honestly have to admit I wondered if you had _ever_ listened to me at all! Why do you think I keep on giving you advice – for my own pleasure? The way you behaved at dinner was inexcusable!" Lumière was pacing besides a large bath tub, his flames swelling in anger at the memory of the afternoon's events. "Plenty of other ladies would have just _left_ the table or would have stopped eating all together!"

Beast winced in pain with every brushstroke the hairdresser took to get through his fur. Apparently the mayonnaise had left awful knots, and he was nearly crying now. "Well, she _didn't_ leave, did she?" Beast tried to argue with Lumière, thinking he was exaggerating. "And she didn't stop eating either!"

"She probably has a strong stomach," Cogsworth muttered from his spot on the boudoir.

Beast growled. He hated it when Cogsworth and Lumière teamed up against him. He preferred to see them bicker with each other _so much_ more.

"I really feel like it's a bad idea to have you dine with Belle again until you have learned some manners," Lumière said firmly as he crossed his arms.

"But I don't _want_ to learn manners!" Beast whined, wincing as the hairdresser combed through another thick knot. "Belle is _fine_ with the way I behave! She doesn't make it an issue; why do you?!"

"Of course she does not make it an _issue_!" Lumière was fuming at the master's ignorance. "She is a _true_ lady! It doesn't mean that she wasn't disgusted by your behavior!"

Beast grumbled as he let the hairdresser cut his hair and listened to Lumière's complaints. "Well, I'm okay with it if she is disgusted by my behavior. I can't help being a Beast! Neither can she help she is a lady. She has every right to feel that way and I have every right to act the way I do." Beast said this as though that finished the conversation, but Lumière looked as though he was about to jump in the bath tub to smack his master in the face.

"First of all: it is your _own_ fault you are a Beast! It is _not _your nature! Second of all: you can change back into a human if only you'd _try_. Third: you need _her_ affections to lift this curse so I think it's only proper to try and behave in front of her. And fourth: you have _no right_ to act the way you do! It is rude and selfish! Don't you want this dreadful curse to break?! Would you rather have us stay household objects? Would you rather have your castle remain dark and gloomy? Would you rather stay trapped in that monstrous body instead of become human again?! Once you lift the curse, you will no longer be a beastly prince, you will be _king_! It was the agreement that your uncle Stefan would only take over the reign of this country until you were of age! Who is going to rule the country if you remain a beast?"

Beast roared as he jumped up and knocked the hairdresser over. He shook the water out of his hair so fiercely that the entire room was soaked and he angrily grabbed a towel from a stool to dry himself.

Lumière looked annoyed that he was drenched and tried to get his flames burning again. Cogsworth kept quiet as he felt a little fear of the master getting into an angry fit. This was not the first time they had had a similar argument.

"King Stefan can rule the country all he wants," Beast muttered darkly. "He can have the throne and keep it. Besides, he has three sons. I'm sure they would_ love_ to be king someday." Beast sat down angrily on his chair in front of the boudoir, waiting for the hairdresser to get up again and comb through his fur some more.

"That is _not_ what was agreed!" Lumière went on angrily. "We _promised_ king Stefan we would prepare you for taking over the leadership of France. We tried our very best to instruct you in the proper behavior of a king, to teach you about eloquence and state affairs and what-not! But you seem to value your childish games a lot more than you do the well-being of your country!"

"It is _NOT_ my country!" Beast yelled back as he clenched his fists, swearing to himself that he was going to knock Lumière of his boudoir any moment now. "You seem to be _so_ convinced that I would help France go to the dogs if ever I were to become a king! Why do you urge me to change and can't I just stay a Beast instead?!"

Lumière screamed in frustration. In conversations like these he forgot that he was dealing with a beast ten times his size. Cogsworth had figured it was better to keep quiet, but Lumière had not yet come to that safe resolve. "Your parents would _kill_ us if they found out we would just give up on you like that!"

"My parents are _dead_!" Beast called back angrily. "I doubt they'd be able to kill you from wherever they are now!"

Lumière sighed deeply and rubbed his candles through his eyes, trying to calm down. "Master," he continued in a softer voice. "_Please_, master, try your best to behave like a gentleman. It would make your parents _so_ proud. It would make _all of us_ proud. _Please_."

Beast growled. How could he possibly argue with someone that talked to him like _that_? It was just… impossible! He hated people that begged.

"Are you done?" Beast asked the hairdresser, who quickly stepped out of the way when he heard Beast's aggressive undertone. Beast put on his pants and took his cape, without making any vow to Lumière about behaving himself. He was not going to be let himself be restricted by rules and promises. "I'm going to look for Sultan," Beast muttered as he headed to the exit of the West Wing. "Don't wait for me." With a loud slam, the door shut. Lumière's candles had been blown out by the draft and he shook his head.

"Don't give up yet…" Cogsworth tried to cheer up Lumière.

Lumière's sad face slowly turned into a smirk. "Do not worry, Cogsworth. I never lose hope this easily…" Lumière faced the door for a moment. "Once he notices how gorgeous Belle is and falls in love with her, he won't be able to wait to turn back into a prince."

"You think?" Cogsworth asked with a lot of doubt in his voice.

"I know so!" Lumière replied in a self-assured voice, before adding in a whisper: "When he notices her… _really _notices her… He'll be a gentleman. _Whether he wants to or not_."

* * *

Belle waited for the sun to set as she sat by the window. All light of day was nearly gone when she got her stuff together and put on her cloak. She closed it tightly around her neck, a little afraid to catch a cold in her new dress, and opened the window. She had a few minutes before it would be completely dark and she would use those minutes to climb down the trellis.

She threw her bag into the flowerbed before climbing out of the window and making her way to the trellis. All was silent around the castle as she jumped in the flowerbed and she looked around suspiciously before picking up her bag.

She stayed close to the palace walls as she made her way over to the secret passageway. She hoped she would find her way out of there on her own. This time she didn't have Beast's hand to hold and she wondered if she was going to find the lever to get out. As she reached the secret passageway, she looked for the right stone to push. Oddly enough, it didn't go as quickly as it had gone that morning. But in the complete darkness, it was harder to make out which stone stood loosely in the wall. After a few minutes, she succeeded and the door slid open.

Belle quickly stepped inside and didn't hesitate to move forward while the door was still open. The more distance she would cover before the door would slide close and darkness would fill the room, the better. After half a dozen steps, the door closed again and Belle slowed down. She felt the walls with one of her hands and held the other hand in front of her. Oddly enough, it seemed like the darkness in the passageway wasn't blinding her as much as it had that morning. She was convinced she could see better this time. That didn't prevent her from tripping though and Belle hardly managed to keep standing as she dropped her bag.

"_Merde_!" Belle cursed as she held onto the wall for support. She bowed down to look for her bag, but wasn't fond on moving her hands across the dirty floor. By the time she had found it, she suddenly froze as she heard something.

Barking. _Loud _barking. And it sounded like it was approaching her rapidly.

"Sultan, get back here!" Beast's voice sounded quite distant still, but Belle gasped as she recognized his voice. _This simply can not get any worse_.

She took a few steps back in the darkness, but she wasn't fast enough. The dog was nearly with her now and Belle held her hands high, afraid that the creature would attack her. As Sultan closed the final distance between Belle and himself, he started jumping around her, barking loudly. Belle was grateful to not feel any teeth sink into her and figured that the dog wasn't that huge, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding when she noticed a light was approaching.

Beast had wondered what on earth had distracted Sultan, and had run after him to find out. Now, as the light revealed that it was Belle, he was confused for a moment and took a few steps closer. She wore a rose in her loose hair. Not a real rose, but a comb of sorts. That was the first thing he noticed, but it only took him a moment to figure out the rest. She wore her dark blue traveling cloak and held her bag in her hands. Not just that, but the look on her face was unmistakably that of someone who had been caught in a crime.

Belle couldn't say a word and just stared at Beast, hoping he would be forgiving, when her attention got drawn by Sultan again. Looking to her side at the barking dog, she suddenly noticed that it wasn't a dog at all and she jumped. It was a footstool! A _barking _footstool! Belle felt like she could faint, but held onto the wall instead.

Beast was still staring at the bag in her hands and his voice sounded a little numb when he finally spoke. "You're trying to escape?"

Belle nodded as she cast her eyes down.

"I see," Beast replied shortly, looking at her face. She looked sad. Miserable, even. And who could blame her for trying? She had other obligations, other things to do in life than spend her time with him and his servants. If it had been his choice, she wouldn't have stayed this long anyways, she would have been on her way to her sick aunt.

"Sultan!" Beast summoned the barking footstool to him and Sultan obliged. It wagged its tail as it circled Beast and Beast stepped to the side of the wall, giving Belle enough room to pass. The servants would kill him if they ever found out… But they would never find out. He would say he hadn't known. Act surprised when they told him the news that Belle had managed to escape. _Nobody had to know._ "Make sure nobody sees you," Beast said slowly as he still stood quietly to the side.

Belle gazed up at Beast with her mouth open. What did he mean? What was he doing? "Are you… letting me go?" she asked, her voice hoarse from surprise.

Beast hesitated. "Yes. Sort of. I am… letting you escape." Beast quickly added: "But don't tell the servants!"

Belle couldn't believe what she was hearing and looked curiously at Beast, who was now avoiding her gaze. He was allowing her to escape. He didn't want her to be a prisoner. Belle felt such a rush of gratitude that she quickly closed the distance between them and gave him a big hug.

Beast had no idea what was happening when Belle appeared to… fall against him or something. Too confused to move, he slowly figured out that she hadn't fallen or anything, but that she was giving him a hug. It was making him mighty uncomfortable and he took her by her shoulders and gently pushed her back a little.

He cleared his throat before he added in a stern voice: "I'm serious about this. Don't ever tell anybody we saw each other here. As far as you're concerned, you didn't see me here at all. You didn't see Sultan here either. You didn't see anyone."

"Got it," Belle quickly said, unable to suppress a smile. "I won't say a thing. And I won't tell anyone about the castle either. I promise."

It felt good to Beast that Belle was smiling. She seemed happy now. It made him feel better too. He was glad he was able to help her. _At least this is one thing in life I didn't screw up._

He handed over his lantern to Belle and picked up Sultan from the floor. "Use the lantern to find your way out of the passageway, but leave it in here," Beast advised her. "And use the backdoor to the stables; that way you won't cross any servants on your way."

Belle nodded, grateful for Beast's pointers. "How can I ever repay you?" she wondered, almost breathlessly.

Beast shrugged. "You can't. I suppose." Beast figured that his servants would have asked her to repay him by loving him, but Beast would rather have it end like this. He was comfortable with this. "Take care," Beast said, turning around and heading out.

"Thank you!" Belle called after him, feeling a hint of sadness to see him leave. "I won't forget this!"

As he disappeared in the darkness, Belle heard him talking to Sultan. "You are one ungrateful dog. I take you to your mother's corpse, but instead of paying your respects you almost knock over her skeleton completely to jump at a guest instead. I'm very disappointed in you…"

Belle smiled sadly as Beast's voice died out and she heard the secret door slide close again. Using the light of the lantern, she made her way through the passageway swiftly, stopping for a moment to stare at the skeleton. Belle didn't get it. How could a genuine dog have been the mother of a footstool that acted like a dog? So far, she had assumed that all magical creatures she had seen here had been objects that had been brought to life by magic… But if the footstool had a dog-mother… That meant that it was born from a real being and that it had something of a real dog inside it as well…

Perhaps that meant that the magical objects hadn't always been objects… But did that mean that once upon a time they had been human instead? And what about Beast? He acted kind of beastly most of the time… But he wasn't a monster really. He was rather kind. Perhaps he _had_ always been that way… Belle found it hard to picture him human. Perhaps _he_ was the one with the magical powers… He might have been the one that had enslaved the humans to act as his servants by turning them into objects?

Belle shook her head. Beast just _wasn't_ magical. He didn't appear to be. But what kind of magic _had_ fallen upon the castle? Belle feared that she would never find out now and decided to put it out of her mind. She had to focus on escaping now.

She pulled the lever and put down the lantern. She took a deep breath and whispered as she stepped out on the grass. "Here goes nothing…"

* * *

Beast was still holding Sultan in his arms as he entered his room in the West Wing and when the footstool started barking, Beast finally put him down. Sultan raced through the room like a loose cannon, messing up the West Wing even more and not stopping until he finally reached the table that held the rose. Sultan barked like mad as the magical presence of the rose was driving him crazy.

Beast shook his head and stretched, feeling very tired from the day's events. More tired than he had felt in a long while. Sultan's incessant barking was becoming the source of a headache and Beast moaned a little. "Keep it down, Sultan! I'll throw you out if you don't shut up!"

Sultan, however, didn't understand a word of that and kept on barking at the rose instead.

"What are you barking about anyway?" Beast wondered out loud as he lay down on the bed. "It's just a stupid rose. With magical light. You're supposed to find it _pretty_, not bark at it as though it's a cat. It's not going to hurt you." Beast closed his eyes as Sultan's barking didn't diminish at all. Why was it so hard to find some peace and quiet in this castle? "Look, Sultan, shut up. I'm not putting the rose away. It's your choice. Either you stay here, quietly, or you can go. I'm not destroying the rose just to have your barking end." Beast opened his eyes again and looked at the rose. _Destroying it…_ That would feel like such a relief. No more lectures… No more pressure… But no more servants either. Ever again. They would leave him for destroying their only hope. He'd be alone forever… until the day he died. A scary thought. He would just have to be patient. Only a few more weeks, a month at most. Surely the rose would be completely withered by then. He'd have to wait another month and then he would be free of this curse… Perhaps not free in the way the servants would want, but free in the way that he would never have to worry about it again. He could just live on his life as a Beast. No responsibility whatsoever. A life of freedom. A life without people telling him what to do… Though he hoped the servants would still be there. He was not going to start cooking for himself. He'd simply die or kill himself in an attempt to light the stove. The servants still had to serve him. That was why they were called servants: to serve. Not to give him lectures. If he had wanted lectures, he would have hired _lecturers_. When would the servants figure that out?

Sultan suddenly stopped barking and turned his head, listening attentively before he sped off to the balcony. Beast wondered what had drawn Sultan's attention and got up from the bed to follow him. He walked to the balustrade and picked up the footstool as he gazed down at the grounds and pricked up his ears. He heard the trampling of hoofs and shortly thereafter he noticed Belle was riding Philippe, heading to the gate as quickly as they could.

Beast smiled as he petted Sultan, keeping him quiet. Belle had made it and no statue had tried to stop her. Good for her. Beast was about to turn and go back in his room when he suddenly noticed Belle had gotten off Philippe and was trying to open the gate. Beast gasped as he realized something. _The gate._ It wasn't just an ordinary gate, it was a servant. And unless the servant was eager to remain a gate, it was unlikely he would let Belle go. Beast cursed as he blamed himself for forgetting.

He watched from the balcony how Belle tried to open up the gate by using all her strength, which wasn't much strength, then smashed a branch she had found on the ground against it. It was never going to work. She needed help.

Beast put down Sultan and hurried out of the West Wing, racing on his hands and feet through the castle. Perhaps nobody had noticed yet. If the gate was the only one who knew, Beast wouldn't mind letting Belle go. Because if the curse never got lifted, the gate would never be able to talk about it. Beast could still make up an alibi. He could say he hadn't known. But he would have to hurry.

As Beast was about to go down the stairs in the entrance hall, he suddenly heard voices and slowed down. Beast pricked up his ears and soon recognized the voices of his household staff. He felt a hint of panic, afraid that they had found out about Belle's escape attempt.

"Mama, what is she doing?"

"I… I don't know, dearest."

"I believe she is hitting the gate with a piece of wood." Babette gasped as all of them stood by the window and looked outside.

"Don't worry," Cogsworth said in a self-assured voice. "She can't get out. I instructed the gate to take special care of that."

"Are you sure the gate is still going to be alive after she is through with him?" Lumière asked, unable to resist a chuckle.

"He's made out of iron, Lumière, I doubt a bit of wood is going to hurt him," Cogsworth replied as he rolled his eyes.

"Might make him dizzy though," Lumière said in an amused voice as he pressed his nose against the window, finding it intriguing how determined Belle was to beat the gate. It was clear to him that she was nowhere near desperate yet and he admired that in her. She seemed to have a feisty spirit. He liked that.

"Well I can only imagine that the poor child has a lot of anger inside for being forced to stay here," said Mrs. Potts. "I say we let her take it out on the gate and pretend we never were witnesses of this."

Cogsworth turned to Mrs. Potts in surprise. "Pretend we never saw this?! The girl needs a firm scolding for this attempt to escape! We agreed she would stay a month, she shouldn't even try such a thing!"

"No, I agree with Mrs. Potts," Babette argued with Cogsworth. "Let her try. She will come back inside at _some_ point once she figures there is no way out. But no scolding. Let her keep her dignity."

"She looks pretty determined to get out. I don't think she will give up soon. She is..." Lumière frowned as he tried to see what she was doing. "What is she doing?"

"Looks to me as though she's using the branch as some kind of leverage now…" Babette muttered, tilting her head to one side to look at her better.

"Oh…" Lumière said with a voice full of admiration. "Very, _very_ clever!" But as he imagined her clever idea actually working, he quickly turned to the others with a hint of fear in his voice. "Will it work?"

"I highly doubt it," Cogsworth said, looking sternly out the window. "The gate weighs way too much to be lifted. Let her try. I'm sure that once she is out of ideas, she'll give up and return inside. And then I'll be ready for a scolding!"

"No scolding!" Mrs. Potts insisted firmly. "The poor child can do without!"

"Surely you are not referring to mademoiselle Belle as a _poor child_? Just look at her!" Lumière gave a longing sigh, causing Babette to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Look at the graceful way in which she is battling the gate! Look how she's trying to break the hinges by slamming that rock into it? Have you ever seen any woman slam into something with such fire, such passion?"

Cogsworth rolled his eyes and replied in a sarcastic tone: "Yes, of course this is a very romantic moment between Belle and the gate we are witnessing, Lumière. Shall we give them some time alone as she gracefully tries to destroy his hinges?"

Lumière sighed again as he put an arm around Cogsworth. "Ah, but do forgive me old friend, but such a spirited young woman was just what we were waiting for. She is fearless, beautiful, exactly like I would want a woman to be!"

Babette's expression had turned very sour by now and she cleared her throat meaningfully.

"For the master!" Lumière quickly added, noticing Babette's reaction. "What I would want a woman to be _for the master_! Surely together, they can make it work! This time next month, we shall be human again!"

"I do hope you're right…" Mrs. Potts said with a little doubt in her voice. "But I do feel sorry for her… That she is trapped here, I mean."

Cogsworth shook his head and quickly interrupted the teapot, feeling that her guilt was useless: "Well, it's not as though we have a choice, Mrs. Potts… And it's only for a month… What's that compared to a lifetime of walking around like _this_? Either you can feel sorry for her having to stay here for a month or you can feel sorry for us staying like this for the rest of our lives. I'd rather be sorry for the first reason, you know? Seven years of walking around with a pendulum in my stomach isn't exactly comfortable. Spare it to me for the rest of my lifetime, please! And it's not like we're mistreating Miss Belle."

"No, we're only asking her to fall in love with a _monster_," Babette muttered darkly.

"Now, now, chéri… Once he turns back into a prince, there won't be much of a monster left in him," Lumière tried to ease her mind. "And we're not _asking_ her… All we do is… gently nudge her in the right direction."

"And nudge him in her direction," Cogsworth chuckled, being a little amused by the idea of himself being a matchmaker.

"Mama! What is she doing now?"

All the servants looked out the window again as they heard Chip's voice. Mrs. Potts was the first to reply. "It looks as though she's trying to make her horse pull open the gate!"

Cogsworth sounded amazed. "Where on earth did she find the rope?"

Lumière lifted his candles in a perplexed way. "Not a clue!" He sighed deeply. "She is truly intelligent! I like that in a woman!" As he heard Babette clear her throat again, he quickly added: "_For the master_!"

"Well how long is she going to keep on trying?" Cogsworth wondered.

"No more than half an hour, I think," Babette answered. "Until she is out of ideas."

"I value her intelligence and creativity a little more than that…" Lumière said challengingly. "I say an hour… and a half."

Cogsworth liked the idea of placing a little bet and chuckled. "Mind if I put my bet on one hour?"

"Not at all!" Lumière grinned. "What shall we wager?"

Cogsworth only needed a moment to think. "As the head of the household staff, I could give you a day off… The moment we turn human again…"

"Deal!" Lumière was excited and he quickly swung his candle-arm around Babette. "If it's for the both of us!"

Babette giggled. "Oh, Lumière!" she said playfully as she batted her eyelashes.

Cogsworth sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. For the both of you. As for me?" he tried to inquire.

Lumière lifted his shoulders carelessly. "I shall comb your toupees for a month!"

Cogsworth opened his mouth, outraged he would talk about his toupees in front of Mrs. Potts and Babette. And the children! Chip probably hadn't even known!

"Mama, what's a toupee?" Chip asked curiously as he looked away from the window for a second.

"Shush, Chip," Mrs. Potts said with a smile.

Lumière quickly glanced outside again. "How about I go and light the fireplace in Belle's room? She would appreciate that after standing out in the cold for _an hour and a half_."

"That sounds lovely, dear, you go and do that," Mrs. Potts said absent-mindedly as she curiously looked outside.

"I say no more than an hour," Cogsworth insisted.

"But shouldn't we tell the master about Belle trying to escape?" Chip's sharp voice cut in. He didn't understand why nobody was doing anything.

"No, dearest… Best not to tell him. We wouldn't need him to give her a shouting. It is going to be hard enough for him to break this spell without knowing she was actually planning on escaping. He could very well be hurt by that knowledge."

Beast couldn't take it any longer. He had heard every word they had said to one another and the way the servants had talked about him and Belle infuriated him. Playing matchmakers, taking bets on how long she'd stay outside, talking about him as though he was going to treat _her_ like he treated _them_… She deserved no such cruelty. Not from him and especially not from his servants.

"You filthy traitors!" Beast roared as he stormed down the stairs, heading to the door and opening it. "You all make me _sick_!" Beast slammed the door shut behind him and the servants were left standing stock-still as the windows were still trembling in their frames.

"Oh my…" Mrs. Potts said after a few moments, being the first to find her voice again.

"Dear me…" Cogsworth whispered.

"Why is the master sick?" Chip wondered curiously. "Did we cook him something wrong?"

"Did he just overhear everything we said?" Lumière asked the others with a slightly guilty voice.

"I am afraid so…" Babette replied quietly, staring out the window with a sad expression. "Is he going to get mad at her now?"

Curiously the servants focused their attention to the outside again. They didn't dare to breathe as they saw Beast storm towards Belle, but she did something which the servants found a little strange. When she noticed Beast was approaching, she started talking to him, pointing to the gate as though trying to explain that it wouldn't open. Beast stepped closely to the gate and started talking to it, pointing his finger and even roaring when the gate didn't budge.

"What on earth is he doing?" Cogsworth wondered, unable to keep up.

Suddenly Beast tried to ram the gate, smashing his entire weight into it, but the iron appeared sturdier than the master and it remained shut.

"He's trying to open the gate," Mrs. Potts realized in surprise.

"You mean… he is letting her escape?" Babette asked as her mouth dropped open.

"He is_ helping_ her escape," Lumière muttered darkly, feeling angry with the master for not cooperating in this. This was his one chance to break the curse and he was about to let it walk away!

After Beast had tried to ram the gate for the fifth time, Belle approached him quickly, put her hand on his arm and talked to him. The servants wished they could hear what she was saying, but there was something that looked to be very gentle in between the two of them.

"This is well enough," Lumière decided. "I am going to stop them. They should get back inside. He can not let her go!"

"No wait!" Cogsworth quickly called and he grabbed Lumière by his arm, preventing him from walking away. He looked outside and couldn't help but feel hope at the sight of Belle and Beast together. "This is… _good_!"

"Good?!" Lumière repeated incredulously. "Ha! Don't make me laugh! He is trying to help her escape!"

Lumière tried to break free from Cogsworth's grip, but the clock didn't budge. "No, no, Lumière! Look! They are _kind_ to each other! He is trying to help her out and is proving to her that he has the best intentions for her, but we don't have to worry! They can't get out! The master will have nothing but Belle's gratitude for trying to help her out and that is only going to make it easier for them to fall in love, eventually! Don't you see?"

Lumière looked outside and blinked. Belle and Beast did appear to be nice to each other. Cogsworth did have a point for once. A very good point, too! "_Sacré bleu_, I believe you are right!" Lumière embraced Cogsworth and the two men danced into each other's arms, cheering as they spun around, feeling more optimistic than they had in a long while.

Babette, however, was still paying attention to the scene and tried to get the attention of her two colleagues. "Uhm, monsieurs… They are climbing the gate."

"Yes, we know, we know!" Cogsworth sang cheerfully, still dancing with Lumière. "They are climbing…" Cogsworth suddenly stopped still and gasped. "WHAT?!"

Lumière pressed his forehead against the window and gasped as well. Belle had apparently climbed on the master's back and held on tightly as Beast climbed on, higher and higher.

"That must be… ten meters high!" Mrs. Potts said quietly, the worry obvious in her voice. "If they fall… Oh dear, I wouldn't want to imagine the consequences."

Chip frowned as he looked at the master helping Belle get over the gate and quickly turned to the adults. "Mama, is he going to carry the horse over the gate too?"

* * *

Belle let go of Beast as they finally reached the other side of the gate and Belle was trembling on her feet. It had been quite scary, especially when they had to get over the very top of the gate, but Beast had taken very good care of them both. Even though they were safe, Belle couldn't help trembling from the excitement.

Beast was panting a bit and held onto the gate, feeling tired. He wasn't used to climbing around while carrying others. The look on his face was quite miserable as he tried to imagine the servants' reactions to this and it didn't take long for Bell to notice this.

"What's wrong?" she asked, closing her cape tightly around her as she was feeling quite cold.

"Nothing," Beast muttered.

"If nothing's wrong, then why do you look so miserable?"

Beast shrugged. "The servants know I helped you get out."

Belle felt sorry for Beast. For one or another reason, he had tried to keep it hidden from them and she felt guilty that they had found out anyway. "I'm really sorry," she apologized.

Philippe's sudden neighing distracted them both and Beast turned to the gate again. "Okay, now let her horse out. There's no use in keeping the horse on the castle grounds," Beast tried to reason with the iron gate.

The gate stayed firmly shut though and Beast moaned in agony. "Just open the bloody gate!" Beast whined miserably. "Look: the girl is out! No need to keep a horse in, is there?"

Belle tried to help Beast reason with the apparently lifeless gate. "Exactly. I am leaving, with or without my horse. So unless you are an animal-lover or anything of the sort, I don't see a reason for keeping the horse on the castle grounds." Belle hoped the gate would open. She didn't think Beast would be able to carry the animal over the gate as he had her. And without a horse, it would prove hard to get back to Molyneaux. Not to mention that it would prove impossible to go to Florence.

Belle thought deeply. The gate was being extremely stubborn. She cleared her throat and addressed Beast in a very formal matter, hoping he would notice that she was just playing. "What a shame that I have no other choice but to leave my horse behind. I do hope you will take very good care of him. Thank you kindly for helping me out. This is where we must part. I wish you the very best." Belle bowed courteously and gave Beast a wink before she turned and walked away, but no further than the first tree she encountered. She hid behind it and listened if Beast could help Philippe out.

"What a shame that she is gone!" she heard Beast say dramatically. Belle smiled as she realized he had been able to figure out her plan. "I best do as she says and take care of her horse now. Would you be so kind to open your… gate? I have a horrible backache and would hate to climb over again."

Belle heard nothing but silence for a few moments, until she heard Beast growl, frustrated with the fact that their little plan hadn't worked. "Look, I asked you politely. Open up! Are you deaf or something?!"

As she realized the gate was apparently more clever than they had figured out, she sighed. From what she heard, it appeared that Beast wasn't giving up yet. Instead, he had started shouting at the gate and from his aggressive undertone, she figured that nothing was going to convince the gate to open up. They were not going to win this.

"Look, I'm telling you!" Beast shouted. "The girl is gone! Open up and let me through!"

"Do no such thing!" a desperate voice suddenly cut in and Cogsworth hopped closer. He was going to die for this, he knew that for sure, but he couldn't just let Belle get away this easily. She was their last hope. On other occasions, the clock would never have dared to defy the master so blatantly, but for the moment, the master and himself were separated by a large and firm gate and that meant he wasn't dead yet. "Mademoiselle Belle is only hiding behind a tree until the master can get her horse out. Whatever you do, do not open up the gate. They'll use that moment to free the horse."

Beast growled menacingly. "You're lucky that I can't reach you right now, Cogsworth! You'd be _dead_!"

Cogsworth took a deep breath as he braced himself. It wasn't the first time the master had spoken to him like that, but he feared that the master's threat wasn't as hallow this time. "Dead? There are _worse_ fates than death," Cogsworth replied darkly, trying not to reveal how intimidated he was by Beast, who was now baring his fangs.

As Belle was still hiding behind the tree, she listened to Beast's growls, only to freeze when she heard his growls mirrored in threatening rumbles that came from behind the other trees around her. Breathlessly, she turned around and ran to Beast. "Open the gate!" she shouted. "Wolves!"

"Don't listen to her!" Cogsworth ordered the gate. "She's just trying to trick you into…"

But when a wolf howled from the edge of the forest, Cogsworth gasped. Then he saw the first gray wolves appear from behind the trees and promptly passed out.

Beast had been startled as Belle had run up to him and warned him. In a flash, he had lifted Belle in the air and set her on the iron bars of the gate. The gate was ornate, with a vertical bar across the middle and decorative iron curlicues all over it... which, luckily, provided Belle with handholds and footholds, allowing her to cling to it.

She grasped onto the bars thankfully, glad to be out of reach, but before she could turn to see how Beast was doing, she already heard his first roar of pain.

Beast howled in pain as one of the wolves sank its teeth into his tail. He had never imagined a wolf could bite this fiercely and nearly passed out in the first moment he felt the pain. With a sharp intake of breath, he whirled around and slashed upwards at the wolf, tearing it off his tail and sending it flying.

Before Beast could catch his breath, a second wolf lunged at Beast, snapping at his hand. Beast took the wolf by its neck before it could bite and threw it away as hard as he could. Undaunted, the other wolves kept up their attack, leaping and snapping at him.

Belle watched in horror as Beast was unable to shake them off. Every time he managed to break free from one wolf's bite, another wolf would jump at him. "Open up this bloody gate!" Belle yelled, only to hear someone repeat her words.

Lumière hurried closer over the long bridge that led to the castle's gate, Babette close behind him. Lumière was nearly out of breath as he yelled: "Open up, sacré bleu! What kind of fool are you?! Do you wish them to die?!"

The gate suddenly swung open so fiercely that Belle had no choice but to let go. She fell to the ground, rolling away from the gate and closer to Lumière. A wolf spotted Belle and leaped toward her, but the gate suddenly slammed shut again, nearly knocking the wolf unconscious as it did so. It only took a moment for the wolf to focus its attention on Beast again, who was still on the other side of the gate.

Belle got up as fast as she could and looked around. "A weapon…" she muttered. "A weapon…" Then she saw the branch she had tried to use before to open the gate. Quickly she dove for it and ran to the gate. "OPEN UP!" she shouted, but the gate didn't listen to her this time either.

"Babette! Fetch some suits of armor! Quickly!" Lumière ordered her as he went over to Cogsworth, who was still lying unconscious on the ground. "Wake up you stupid clock!" Lumière hissed in frustration as he saw Belle wanted to go to his master's aid. "This is no time to faint! Order the wretched gate to open!"

Cogsworth still felt very faint and opened his eyes a little. Lumière sounded serious and without realizing what exactly he was saying, Cogsworth murmured quietly: "Gate open… Gate open now." As he had said these words, he fainted again.

The gate opened slightly and Belle trembled as she saw Beast was still fighting for his life. "BEAST! OVER HERE!" she called, standing behind the gate and hoping he heard her. He just had to try to get back inside… Preferably _without_ the wolves.

Beast tried his hardest to shake off the wolves, but they were persistent. They knew that together, they could take down their prey.

Belle gulped. With no idea of what she was going to do, she suddenly swung open the gate and ran out again. She hurried to Beast, who was now rolling over the ground in an attempt to rid himself of the wolves. Quickly, she tried to hit one of the wolves that were on him with the stick. But she missed and hit Beast on the back instead, causing him to notice her.

"Go back!" Beast yelled as he realized Belle was there, but it was too late. Two wolves jumped at her. One bit her cape and tugged, causing Belle to fall over. Another one went for her foot and bit it, but Belle instantly hit the wolf with her branch and the wolf howled shortly before backing away again.

Lumière couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was going to be a massacre! They were not only going to be left without a girl, but without a master as well! There would be no breaking the curse at all. Lumière didn't hesitate and jumped through the bars of the gate, hurrying to Belle's aid as another wolf jumped at her.

Belle let out a scream as she felt some teeth piercing her arm, but the wolf released sooner than expected. Lumière lit the wolf's tail on fire and the wolf ran away with painful yelps.

Belle gasped as she realized that Lumière was exactly the weapon she needed and without asking, she took the candelabra in her hands and waved him at the wolves that were trying to approach them. The wolves growled at the fire, but kept their distance, and Belle made her way over to Beast once more.

Lumière tried to make his flames as impressive as possible, taking deep breaths and glaring angrily at the wolves. In the meanwhile, Belle tried to light the branch on fire and when a small flame was burning on it, she threw the stick on a dry bush that stood nearby.

The wolves were terrified by the fire that started and drew back. As they saw the bush go up in flames, they made a run for it, howling with their tails in between their legs. Together, the wolves could face any prey… But against fire they were powerless.

Beast lay down with his face to the ground, panting heavily as Belle and Lumière hurried to his side.

"Master!" Lumière called out as he hurried to Beast's paw and lifted it in the air, as though to feel for a pulse. "Master, say something!"

Beast, however, was too dazed to say anything. He was aware that he heard a familiar voice, but he had no idea whose it was. The shadows he saw around him didn't tell him much either. All he knew was that there were wolves. Too many of them. And he couldn't fight them. He was sure that they had won. Sure that he was defeated.

Belle heard the ringing of metal and turned to see that a dozen suits of armor were marching closer. She immediately turned her gaze back to Beast and was overcome by a feeling of guilt as she saw the wounds the wolves had inflicted on him, especially on one of his paws and his tail, which seemed to be bleeding fiercely. She put her hand on his arm, stroking it gently. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered. "This is all my fault!"

Belle bit her lip as the suits of armor approached and she stood up, giving them room to lift Beast in the air.

"To the castle!" Lumière ordered them. "And someone pick up Cogsworth, that useless, cowardly and no-good clock!"

One of the suits of armor grabbed Cogsworth from the ground as the others lifted Beast in the air and made their way over to the castle. Belle hurried after them, not even considering escaping even though the way through the gate and to her home was clear.

Philippe stood motionless behind the gate, confused by all the evening's events. One moment he had been convinced that he and Belle would go riding… But now she was just leaving him standing there again. Philippe shook his head as he walked away from the gate. He felt hungry. He had seen some lovely flowers around this castle. Surely nobody would mind him eating some.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _Yep… That was 15 pages of story for your reading pleasure in one chapter... Read and review?_

_I have to say this wasn't the easiest chapter to write though, I made some pretty severe mistakes, but thankfully my beta-reader TrudiRose helped me back on track. I don't know where I'd be without her so: thank you Trudi!_


	8. By the Fire

**Chapter 8: By the Fire**

It had been hours since they had laid down Beast by the fire in the parlor room. Hours in which Belle had tried her hardest to take care of Beast's wounds. The servants had aided her. Mrs. Potts had boiled some water, Lumière and Babette had brought some bandages and Cogsworth had tried his best to lighten Belle's guilty state of mind by taking part of the blame on himself.

While Lumière and Cogsworth had argued about whose fault it was that the gate hadn't opened sooner, Belle had bandaged Beast's left foot as well as his tail. He bore scratches and marks about everywhere on his body and Belle noticed that besides the dirt of the forest ground, there was also blood on his fur as she gently washed it off his arms and chest.

Mrs. Potts had asked Belle several times to leave the master be for a few minutes to look after her own wounds. But Belle had refused. Yes, her arm was still bleeding, but she had only quickly made a compress and bound it around it. As for her foot, the wolf's teeth had only scraped the flesh a bit before Lumière had come to her rescue. The bleeding had already stopped and she didn't see a need to inspect the wound closer. Her shoes, however, looked like a total loss and she was now sitting on her bare feet by the fire.

It was hours past midnight and everyone was exhausted, mentally as well as physically. With Lumière and Cogsworth's promise to stay with the master, Babette and Mrs. Potts left the parlor. Cogsworth eyed Belle as she put her cape over Beast's legs and then gently continued dabbing a white cloth against his neck, her eyes narrowing as she discovered yet another scratch the wolves had left.

"Mademoiselle Belle," Lumière said softly. "You should get some rest. We shall stay with the master and let you know when he regains consciousness."

"No, I'll stay," Belle replied shortly, not allowing Lumière to distract her.

"It is after three in the morning already…" Cogsworth tried to convince Belle. "Get some rest and come see him first thing when you wake up."

"No." Belle refused simply and she repeated: "I'll stay."

Cogsworth and Lumière exchanged helpless glances with each other. They did not know what to feel. Somehow they felt like they should rejoice because the girl was taking such good care of the master. Rejoice because she apparently _liked_ him in one way or another. But somehow it felt very wrong, especially because their master could have been killed. And not just the master, but Belle too. They had risked this just by ordering the gate to remain shut and because they had left Belle without another means to escape. If they had intervened in her escape sooner, it wouldn't have come to this.

Belle sighed as she immersed the cloth in the water for what seemed to be the zillionth time that night. She felt a little lightheaded but didn't know what from exactly. From worry? Or maybe from wonder? She had never met anyone like Beast. He had been so kind in aiding her and when the wolves had come, he had lifted her like she was a feather and put her on the gate so she would be safe. He had _saved_ her. And though he didn't look like one, Belle felt like he was her hero. She would do anything to help him get better. She made that promise to herself.

As Cogsworth paced slowly in front of the fireplace, Lumière leaned against the chair that stood in the parlor. It was silly to have the master lay on the floor in this condition. If Belle hadn't been there, they would have moved him to his room in the West Wing, but not with Belle around. She didn't have to see the permanent state of destruction that room was in. Nor did she have to see the rose. Lumière wouldn't know what to reply to Belle's questions then. He was sure that the other servants felt the same way and that they hadn't suggested moving the master to his room for exactly the same reason.

Lumière eyed Belle slowly as she sat on her knees besides the master. She touched him so gently that Lumière hardly dared to breathe as he bore witness to it. There was no hesitation or fear in her expression as she brought the cloth to his face and gently stroked his cheek with it. If anything, there was worry in her eyes, and perhaps, though Lumière hardly dared to think it, afraid it would disappear again, love.

But this feeling wasn't mutual, Lumière knew. If it were, the master wouldn't have let her go. He wouldn't have helped her escape if he really wanted her to stay. The master didn't care… _yet_. Lumière found himself secretly enjoying the view of Belle sitting close to the fireplace, her hair loose and wild and her bare skin glowing in the light of the nearby flames. Her red dress was dirty too, now, and Lumière thought that to be a shame. She looked stunning in it. Lumière knew that if he voiced these feelings to Babette, he would be in for at least a week of the 'cold shoulder' treatment, but there was no harm in just _looking_.

Suddenly Beast moaned softly and the three of them startled.

"Is he awake?" Cogsworth asked, immediately hurrying over to Belle.

Belle had quickly withdrawn her hand from his face. She had just washed his eyes when he had suddenly moved a little and they had been startled by his moan. "I don't know," she whispered quietly, afraid to speak louder.

Beast moaned again as he found himself in-between sleep and consciousness. He felt his body aching all over and wanted to shut out the pain by returning to his sleep, but he found he couldn't. And then there were voices around him and there was the feeling that someone had touched him. Beast wondered what had caused him to be in so much pain when he suddenly remembered the wolves.

He forced his eyes to open and tried to creep up, only to find that his body ached too much to do so.

"Master!" he heard Cogsworth's voice say cheerfully. "You're awake!"

"We were very worried about you, master!" Lumière's voice seemed slightly less cheerful and more serious than usual. To Beast that had to mean that it _was_ serious and there was a genuine reason to be worried.

Beast tried to take in his surroundings and his eyes immediately met Belle's. She seemed sad as she sat beside him, biting her lip, but apparently she was okay and a rush of relief washed over Beast. "Belle…" he let out softly, the name sounding more like a cough than a word.

"Yes, Belle!" Cogsworth repeated, thrilled to see that the master was conscious again and still had his memory. For a moment he had been worried that the master would never wake up again, but he had clearly overreacted. Cogsworth hadn't been this relieved in ages.

Beast, however, wasn't happy to hear the servant's voice. He remembered how Cogsworth and the others had stood by the window, doing nothing, as Belle had tried to escape. He remembered how Cogsworth had almost ordered the gate not to open before he had seen the wolves and passed out. And Lumière was no better. He had bet on the time it would take before Belle would give up her attempt.

Anger filled Beast's body and for a moment, it made the pain less. He tried to sit up straight and stared darkly at Cogsworth. He spoke through clenched teeth and his voice was rumbling. "I will only say this once… Get out!"

Lumière gulped. The master had addressed Cogsworth in this, but he had the feeling that the message was meant for him as well.

Cogsworth blinked his eyes twice, not seeing what the problem was. "But master, why…"

"OUT!" Beast roared as loud as he could muster in his current state. "OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Lumière quickly ran to Cogsworth and dragged him out of the way, just in time before the master's claw grabbed for the clock. Lumière pulled Cogsworth with him and hurried out of the room. He made a mental note to avoid the master for a little while, but somehow also had to smile. After all, he didn't mind giving the master and Belle some privacy.

As Cogsworth, protesting heavily, left the room with Lumière and the door fell shut, Beast's anger slowly faded away and the pain returned. Powerless to fight the pain, Beast fell on his back again, moaning a little with his eyes closed until Belle's voice brought him back to his senses.

"Are you alright?"

Of course he wasn't, but he didn't reply immediately. Instead, his eyes met Belle's again and he felt a little frightened when he saw her worried expression. It wasn't just worry etching the lines of her face, there was more that was wrong. But despite the clearness of her distress, Beast couldn't help but get a little distracted as he let his eyes wander to her dress. He gulped as he forced his gaze upwards again and he tried to shake his head. "You tell me," he replied, trying to sound amused, though he wasn't at all.

Belle couldn't bring herself to smile, even though nothing could have relieved her more than to hear Beast's voice. It was like a weight dropped off her, knowing he was conscious and reasonably well. Belle slowly moved the wet cloth to his eyebrow and patted it on a scratch.

Beast hardly dared to breathe as she touched his face with the cloth and he gasped softly as he realized something. "It was you that woke me!"

Belle put the cloth back in the bowl of water and quickly bowed her head. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to."

"No!" Beast quickly interrupted. He wasn't mad at her for waking him, just surprised. It had been _her_ touch he had felt the moment before he woke. But what he _didn't_ understand was why she looked so miserable. "Are _you_ alright?" he asked, the words feeling a little strange in his mouth.

Belle looked up at him again and she felt a little alarmed that he would be the one asking_ her_ that. He was the one that had fought all the wolves, not her! "Yes!" she quickly replied, her hand instinctively trying to cover up the bandage she had loosely tied around her arm. "Yes, you _saved_ me!"

Beast shivered upon hearing those words. _Had he?_ He feared her grateful tone was based on false presumptions… He had never intended to gain this kind of gratitude from her! His eyes couldn't help but dart to her arm and when he saw she was wearing a bandage of a sort, he felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't saved her at all… He didn't know what exactly _had_ happened, but the wolves had overpowered him. She must have saved him instead.

"If I saved you," he said quietly, his voice void of all emotions as his hand moved to her arm. "How did you end up with this?" He lifted her hand and saw her bandage was coming loose and was even stained with blood at parts.

Belle blushed, ashamed that she hadn't been able to cover it up a little better. She hadn't meant to draw any attention to herself. "This is nothing," she said dismissively, trying to focus on him again as she hid her arm behind her back. "You were in much worse shape."

As Belle gestured at his feet, Beast looked down. He was a little surprised to find her cloak covering his legs and pulled it off, feeling his nerves twitch as the fabric slid past his feet. What he saw wasn't very shocking, however. He saw that his leg was neatly bandaged and even his tail had a proper bandage around it. He still felt pain, but it didn't look nearly as bad as Belle's blood-stained bandage around her arm. "You did this," he stated quietly as he gestured at his foot and he saw Belle nod in return.

"It was the least I could do," she explained. "You saved my life, I-"

Beast put his finger on her mouth to silence her. She had said it again and this second time it hadn't made more sense than it had the first time. "Hold on," Beast said, trying to arrange his thoughts. "What did I miss? I didn't save your life! Last thing I know I was fighting wolves and passing out! How could _that_ have saved your life?" She was looking at him too worriedly, too kindly and _much_ too lovingly. The last thing he needed was for Belle to feel indebted to him or for the curse to be broken. Beast didn't know on what fantasy she had based this idea that he had saved her, but he needed the truth clarified. He could do without the girl idolizing him and thus making the fault of falling in love with him. It wouldn't be fair on her, either.

Belle put her good hand on Beast's arm as she started talking and for a moment Beast was numb and all her words seemed lost. His stomach turned as he realized she had no fear of him whatsoever. The gentle way in which she touched him even made him break out in beads of sweat. He couldn't remember feeling nervous like this.

Belle was so overcome; the words just tumbled from her mouth. "…and then you just lifted me in the air… You could have run for safety yourself or climbed on first… But instead you helped me out of their reach!" Belle sighed as she found it hard to control her emotions. She felt like laughing and crying at the same time. He had faced the wolves while it should have been her. She was so indebted to him. She didn't know how she could ever repay him. "Without you… I think I'd be dead. You saved me!"

Beast listened in horror and for a moment he wished he _had_ climbed the gate instead of helping her. His horror didn't lessen when she suddenly started crying. _This was not happening._ "You've got it all wrong!" he tried to convince her. "I was just stupid. I should have climbed on the gate _myself_! I didn't _mean_ to save you! It happened by accident! I just thought I had enough time to get to safety myself _too_!"

"And still you helped me to safety first!" Belle said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You're a true hero."

"No, I'm not!" Beast quickly said. "I'm no hero. Just a nasty Beast."

Beast knew he was seriously failing in his attempts to convince her he _was _a nasty Beast when she laughed at his remark. He wasn't even trying to be funny!

Belle felt a little relieved by Beast's attempt at humor. "Somehow I just can't believe that," she smiled. "You've been the only one here sticking up for me since I arrived. You didn't stop me when you learned I was escaping and you even came to help me. I don't know how I can ever repay you. You're my hero."

Beast moaned as she spoke those last words and Belle seemed to be a little surprised. "Look, Belle, you've got me all wrong!" Beast tried to explain, frustrated that her interpretation of things was so far from the truth. "I'm not a hero at all! I'm just a selfish and spoiled… Beast." He had nearly spoken the word 'prince', but found himself glad that he had been able to correct himself in time.

"You're not selfish at all!" Belle quickly replied. "At least not completely! If you were, you wouldn't have tried to help _me_!"

"No, I am!" Beast argued quickly. "I _am_ selfish! I wasn't helping you to help _you_! I was helping you to help _me_!" Beast saw the look on Belle's face had changed from eternally grateful to suspicious and he gave a relieved sigh. _Good, at least she is listening!_ "The truth is: I didn't want you here in the first place. When Cogsworth brought me the news your horse had been shot, I told him to help you out as quickly as possible. I didn't want you to stay at all! But then he forced me to talk to you and I learned you couldn't leave until your horse was healed, so I thought: fine, let her stay one more night then! But then… I don't know what happened but the next moment you were forced to stay here for _a month_ and I really didn't want you here so _that_'s why I helped you escape! It's just the bloody servants! If it weren't for them you'd be on your way to your aunt already! They're just not letting you go and ignoring everything I say and completely not listening to me!" Beast sounded aggravated by the time he had finished explaining his situation to Belle and he clenched his fists.

Belle's mouth had dropped open as she had listened, but she didn't know what to make of his tale. It all felt very confusing to her. "So… You helped me… because you don't want me here?"

"Yeah, pretty much!" Beast nodded eagerly, glad to see she was starting to understand. "If I did anything heroic in the meantime, I can assure you that it was strictly accidental!"

Belle couldn't resist a chuckle. Even if he was telling her the truth, it was very hard to dislike him. If anything, he managed to make Belle even more intrigued with him than she already was. "So… I just have to ask but… why is it you don't want me here? Don't you like me?" Belle was a tiny bit insecure for a moment and stroked her hair to one side, looking at her own hands to avoid meeting his gaze.

Beast gulped and stared at her. _Did she really expect an answer to that?_

Belle kept on staring at her hands for a while, but there was only so much time in which she could do this before it made her very uncomfortable. After what seemed like half a minute or so, she finally looked up at him. "Well?" she asked quietly.

Beast was taken aback and would have liked to run and hide more than anything. Perhaps he could pretend to faint so that he could avoid answering? Still, he knew fainting was no guarantee that she wouldn't ask him the question again at a later time. She was waiting for an answer and Beast slowly cleared his throat. "I don't… _dislike_ you," Beast replied honestly, looking at his hands.

Belle waited for him to continue, but he didn't. She felt a little impatient and frowned, sighing. "But if you don't dislike me, why is it you want me gone?"

Beast felt miserable. Did he really have to answer that too? "I mean… I don't necessarily want you _gone_… It's just… I don't want you _here_… Does that make any sense?" Beast quickly looked up at Belle and she shook her head in such a matter that it was clear to Beast she had no idea what he was talking about. And frankly, neither did he.

Beast sighed deeply again before he attempted another explanation. "Look, it's not that it matters whether I like you or not. It really doesn't. I just don't want you here. You don't make my life here any easier. Before you came here, I could do as I pleased and behave however I wanted. But ever since you came, my servants are constantly nagging at me, telling me what to do and how to behave. It is making my life a hell and I would really like them to leave me alone. But they won't. Not until you go. So that's the only reason why I would want you gone. If I like you or not doesn't matter."

"You helped me escape because you don't want your servants nagging at you?" Belle tried to summarize, finding it a very odd explanation of Beast's behavior. There still seemed to be so much she didn't understand. Just trying to comprehend him gave her a headache.

"Yeah, see, it's not _you_ I dislike, it's _the servants_ that are unbearable! Ever since _you_ arrived _they_'ve been misbehaving! I feel like I'm not even the master of my own household!"

Belle smiled, slowly starting to understand why that unnerved him so much. "Like with the gate! It didn't even listen to you!"

"Exactly!" Beast replied, relieved that Belle understood. "I'm its master, yet it doesn't listen to me!"

Belle nodded, trying to figure out why the servants were having such a hard time obeying him. "It sounds to me like a simple mutiny of sorts."

"_Mutiny_?" Beast repeated, raising an eyebrow as he was unfamiliar with the word.

"Yes, mutiny!" Belle explained. "I've read about it in books! It happens a lot on ships, both navy ships as well as pirate ships! When the crew feels like the captain isn't acting in their best interest, they mutiny!"

Beast stared at Belle with his mouth open, listening intently. He had never heard of anything which happened on ships, but the eager way in which she explained it convinced Beast that she had to be an expert in all things regarding ships and _mutiny_.

"In case of a navy commander, they often put him in the brig and later on put him in court to justify his actions… In the case of pirates… They often just force their captain to walk the plank!"

As Belle looked at Beast with large eyes to emphasize the drama of what she had just told, Beast gasped, but he didn't entirely get it. "What plank?" he asked, genuinely interested.

Belle frowned, a little confused about the fact that he didn't know anything about 'walking the plank'. "The pirate plank!" she tried to explain. "It's like… a plank on the ship which they use to get to the docks… But sometimes they lay out the plank in the middle of the sea, without any land nearby… And when they force the captain to walk that plank then, he ends up…" Belle waited for a moment, expecting Beast to finish her sentence.

"…in the water?" Beast finished, unsure if that was what she had implied, but when he saw her smile, he was proud that he had guessed correctly.

"Yes… It is basically a death sentence. A very cruel one too! To die out at sea!" Belle shivered. "A scary thought! Not knowing if you are going to drown or be eaten by a shark!"

"Or drown and _then_ be eaten by a shark!" Beast imagined with a look of horror on his face.

Belle laughed. "Exactly!"

Despite the pain he felt, Beast grinned as he was visualizing a poor man being eaten by a shark at sea. The idea was too silly for words to him and he chuckled.

Belle smiled as she saw Beast's expression. Seeing him smirk like that made her confident that he would be well again soon. But as silence fell again between the two of them, Belle couldn't help but wonder why the servants had disobeyed him in the first place. "Beast, if I may ask… But why do you think your servants mutinied against you?"

"Don't ask me," Beast quickly replied. "You're the expert considering this _mutiny_-thing. I hadn't even heard of the word until you mentioned it."

Belle smiled and shook her head at the same time. "You can hardly call me an expert! I just read about it in a book once! … Or twice. Or three times… maybe…" Belle nervously looked back up at Beast as she realized she was being distracted by the memory of books she had read. This was not the right moment to think back of all the stories she had come upon involving a mutiny. She hoped Beast didn't think she was strange for allowing herself to be distracted like that, if only for a moment. "But why do you think they didn't listen to you? If you say that I should be released, they should listen… Right? You are the master of this castle, right?"

Beast nodded quickly, agreeing with Belle, but also feeling a little ashamed. He _had_ given the servants a good reason to disobey him, he supposed. He had eagerly wanted to help their only hope out of the country, in a way. But where the servants looked upon Belle as a gift, Beast saw her arrival more as a curse. "They like having you here more than I do, I suppose," he muttered, hoping it would pass off as a decent answer.

Belle shook her head. "If they_ truly_ liked me, they wouldn't be forcing me to stay here. They make me uncomfortable sometimes… The way they look at me… Like they want something of me… It's a bit creepy."

Beast felt a little alarmed that Belle seemed to understand so much of the situation in the castle already, but at the same time he couldn't help a grin as Belle pulled a face and rubbed her arms, as though she felt shivers down her spine just thinking about it. "I think they want to keep you here so you can… teach me some manners. Or something," Beast quickly made up. In a way, this was partially true. He wasn't lying to her entirely, just omitting all information about the curse and that love was the only thing that could break it.

Belle raised an eyebrow. "Teach you some manners?" she repeated incredulously and she grinned as an evil thought popped into her mind and she looked at him slyly. "That would just be a lost cause, wouldn't it? Teaching _you_ manners… An impossible quest if ever I heard of one."

Beast was taken aback for a moment. He had been talking to Belle comfortably and suddenly she had… _insulted_ him! He furrowed his brow and sneered at her angrily. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?!" he demanded to know.

Belle's sly expression didn't betray any of her thoughts and she tried to reply casually. "Oh, just that it would be a wasted effort to try and teach _you_ manners."

Beast lifted his finger as though he was to retort to that, but instead, he dropped his frown and thought about what she was saying. Was she trying to confuse him? Was she trying to make him mad? Well, whatever she was trying to do, it wasn't going to work. "Yes, you're absolutely right," he agreed with her, a hint of faked gratefulness in his voice. "I wouldn't _want _to learn manners anyways. I don't care about such idiotic virtues."

Now it was Belle's turn to be confused. Her plan hadn't worked exactly like she had wanted. She had thought he would insist that he _would_ be able to learn some manners. But now he was actually agreeing with her that it would be a waste of time. Who was he trying to fool? Belle or himself? Or was he genuinely a lost cause?

"I really don't care about behaving myself or being polite," he insisted, sounding very self-assured. "I'm a Beast after all and if the servants want me to behave… Well, it's not going to happen. I can't help being cruel and unkind, you see?"

Belle nodded absent-mindedly as she was giving more attention to his eyes than to the words he was speaking. Something about his face and the way he talked told her he wasn't being truthful, not entirely. He seemed to want to convey the impression he was cruel and unkind, but she didn't know for what reason… Perhaps she was just used to guys bragging about themselves, like Gaston constantly did. Beast, on the other hand, seemed to want to put smudges on _his own_ reputation. It made no sense at all. And he wasn't cruel and unkind like he said, was he?

Deciding that she was as fit a person to find out as anybody else, she suddenly grasped her wounded arm, hissing as though her arm was stinging in pain, which it wasn't.

"Are you okay?" Beast instantly asked, sitting up straight and bending towards her. "What's wrong?"

Belle held her good hand in front of her eyes, pretending to be a little faint. "I… I don't know," she lied. "It stung for a moment… The pain is passing now… This didn't happen before!"

Beast gulped. He was no doctor and had no idea what it could be that made her arm hurt like that all of a sudden. "Let me have a look," he insisted softly, unsure if that would make him any wiser at all. He didn't even know what he would have to pay attention to. But if her arm looked like it was going to get worse, he would go to wake his servants and they would have to take care of her. Perhaps _they_ would have a clue what they were doing.

Belle played along secretly, unwinding the bandage around her arm and revealing the wound. She watched Beast's face closely and noticed that he seemed a little bit disgusted or horrified by the look of it. But his voice sounded braver when he remarked: "That doesn't look _that_ bad… Perhaps you just need to wash it up and bandage it properly?"

"If only I actually _could_," Belle sighed, faking some desperation. "I'm so clumsy with only one good arm…"

Beast looked around, noticing a jug of water besides the bowl in which Belle had put the cloth with which she had tended to his wounds. He reached for it, but instantly drew back his hand when a pain shot through his wounded leg. Even his tail seemed to ache as he had shifted his position. It was best if he didn't move too much, he figured, and he pointed to the jug. "Take that, if you can," he ordered Belle. "And is that a dry cloth? Take that one too."

Quietly, Belle obeyed him. She watched curiously as he clumsily poured some water on the cloth, then held it in front of her, as though he wanted her to take it. Belle gratefully took the moist cloth and quickly glanced at his face before she concentrated on her own arm again. It looked to Belle as though he didn't dare to actually come close to the wound and Belle didn't blame him for it. _But cruel and unkind? No, not at all._

"Thank you," Belle said politely as she dabbed her own wound with the cloth.

Beast looked curiously as she wiped the blood away. "You can even see the marks of the wolf's teeth!" he remarked, interested, bending his face closer until he was only inches away from her arm.

"You should have seen your tail," Belle said with a smile. "It was much worse, trust me… And your foot wasn't pretty either."

Beast felt thankful that he hadn't had to look upon his own wounds as she had taken care of him. He didn't like blood much. She seemed to be able to deal with it a lot better than he could.

As Belle finished up cleaning her wound, she turned and grabbed a bandage that lay on a nearby table. "Could you help me?" she asked him gently, offering him the bandage.

Beast gulped as he looked at the bandage and hesitated to take it. "I-I'm no doctor," he said quickly.

Belle put the bandage in his hands, despite the fact that he had tried to back away. "You don't need to be. It's easy. Here, I'll tell you what to do." She took his hand that held the bandage and put it on her arm. "Okay, I'll hold the beginning of the bandage here and you turn it around my arm once."

Beast frowned in concentration as he did what Belle told him. "Just once?" he wondered, finding it a little bit odd that they were already finished when the wound wasn't even covered up.

Belle smiled softly. "No, this is just the beginning, but now I can turn this flap around, you see? Now turn it around again… No, a little tighter… This way my bandage won't start moving around, you see? Now just roll it over the length of my underarm and back."

Beast felt like he was a clumsy fool as he tried to follow Belle's directions. He was glad he wasn't a doctor.

"No, that's too loose," Belle remarked as Beast was covering up her wound. "That needs to be a lot tighter or else it's going to shift and my wound isn't going to heal properly."

Beast frowned in a frustrated matter. _This isn't easy!_ "Yeah, well, get a doctor then!" He replied, angrily. "I'm just trying not to hurt you! I don't even dare to tug the bandage tighter around _that_ wound!" Beast breathed heavily, considering giving up and just dropping the bandage. _Why can't she do this herself? _How was he supposed to know the right way to do this?

Belle was a little startled by his temper, but she supposed she might have come across as a little too bossy for his liking. She quickly put her good hand on his. "No, you're doing great, really!" Belle tried to encourage him. "I'll let you know if it hurts. I'm not made out of glass, you know. Don't worry."

Beast was still breathing heavily, but he felt his anger subdue slowly and in return he felt guilt. He didn't like the sensation and realized he _had_ overreacted. It wasn't often that he felt like that. It was odd that she hadn't reprimanded him for getting frustrated. All the servants would have said in such a situation would be: "Control your temper!" She hadn't, though… But then why did he feel this guilt all of a sudden?

Slowly, he continued winding the bandage around Belle's arm and back again. Belle looked at his hands closely and couldn't help but stare. His hands were… odd. They were quite big and covered in fur. His dark nails looked more like claws, but at the same time his hands were very human. He had four fingers and a thumb and he even seemed to use them exactly like humans did. His feet, however, were nothing like human feet. It confused Belle slightly.

"Finished?" Beast asked as he had reached the end of the bandage.

"Yes! Thank you!" Belle said gratefully as she tucked the end of the bandage tightly underneath the other layers. "Thank you so much."

Beast only managed to stutter: "I-it's n-nothing." Nervously, he scratched the back of his neck. It was odd to be thanked for anything.

Belle stared in the fire for a moment, feeling happy that her little plan had worked, before she turned to him again. "Cruel and unkind, you said, didn't you?" she asked softly, with a smile on her face.

Beast felt very uncomfortable as he looked up at Belle. He realized she had tricked him. He would have liked to reply swiftly and with a catching answer, but had to admit she had outsmarted him.

Belle only waited a moment for him to reply. As he remained quiet, probably because he now had to admit to himself that he had failed in convincing her, she continued gently. "Did you honestly believe that you were?"

Frankly, Beast did. "My servants say so…" Not that they had ever said so in his face. But he had heard them plenty of times as he was sitting in a gargoyle's neck. And the Enchantress had said so… "Spoiled, selfish, unkind…" he muttered darkly, remembering the times he had overheard others say it. "I'm pretty sure there's _some_ truth in there."

Belle was at a loss for words. She didn't really know him, but if anything, she'd describe him more as childish, naïve… and a little short-tempered. Though she did realize he probably _was_ spoiled too, the way the servants had tried to please him at dinner. But _unkind_… Belle couldn't think of a moment when he had been. Not to her… To his servants, however…

Beast stared into the fire as Belle remained quiet. His brow was furrowed as dark thoughts roamed his mind. He knew nobody liked him, but that was alright. After all, he was a Beast. If he could try to be happy with himself, his life wouldn't be so bad, despite the curse! The last thing he had to do was focus on other people's opinions of him. That would be sure to get him down. Nobody would ever have to like him and he could still be himself. He just had to try to block out other people's opinions on him, as hard as that sometimes proved to be.

"Maybe you _can_ change…" Belle said softly, feeling uncomfortable in the silence. "Maybe you already have, but nobody has noticed it yet… It's hard to change perceptions when you've known someone for a long time. Maybe your servants won't ever change their opinion, but I…" Belle paused for a moment as she took a deep breath, trying to figure out what was the best way to say it. "I don't have an opinion yet. Maybe I can be the one to judge whether you are any of those things? Once I get to know you? I might even _like_ you!"

Despite Belle's gentle tone, the words she spoke angered Beast. Why did she have to be so damn kind and innocent all the time? He didn't need any of that! "I don't _need _you to like me," Beast replied angrily, his voice rumbling. "And I don't _want_ you to like me either! I don't even want you to get to know me _or_ get to know you! When will you finally understand?! I don't _want_ to be judged, just leave me be!"

Belle's mouth dropped as she was startled by his sudden, aggressive reply. She had only assumed he would have liked the idea of a fresh start, of the possibility to leave a good impression on someone that didn't know him yet for a change. Instead, he was trying to push her away again and saying things that… actually _hurt_ her. It upset Belle that he was showing no kindness whatsoever towards her offer and she realized that, after all, he truly _was_ unkind. "I'm sorry for upsetting you," she replied quietly, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.

"Don't be!" Beast replied harshly, realizing that he was not going to be able to shake her off unless he stood his ground now. He had to create this distance for his own good and maybe for _her_ good as well. "Just leave me! I don't want you here!"

Belle got up quietly, taking deep breaths to ensure she could leave the room in peace as she felt terribly upset by his sudden change in attitude towards her. He sounded aggressive, but how could that be? He wasn't that bad, was he? Belle felt like she had to try to restore the mood between them. How could he be this cruel, even to himself? "Before I go," Belle tried quietly. "Is there anything you need or I can get you?"

Beast frowned as he realized he was in no state to do anything. He couldn't even _move_ properly.

"Do you want me to help you to your room?" Belle offered quickly as she realized Beast hadn't returned her offer by a yell yet and this had to mean his anger was fading already.

Beast felt powerless to fight her kindness. It was cruel to him to be near her. She was so kind that she might even be able to break the spell… and at this thought, he was filled with anger again. "No!" he replied quickly, glaring at her angrily. "Just leave me the hell alone! JUST GO!" He roared as loudly as he could from his sitting position by the fire place and he grabbed the jug of water from the ground and threw it to the wall, where it smashed loudly on impact.

Belle gasped as she figured it had not been a good idea to try to defy him, even with kindness. She turned and ran out of the room, her eyes filling with tears. She felt powerless to fight his anger. As she reached the stairs, she realized she couldn't see anything through her own tears and she fell to the ground, sobbing as her heart pounded painfully hard in her throat. She didn't understand. What had she done to bring that anger upon her? Had she deserved it in any way? It felt so unfair and Belle couldn't stop her tears. Her entire body froze as she heard things smash to the ground in the parlor and Beast's roars still. She felt genuinely scared by the sounds, but something stopped her from running. Instead, she moved closer to the room again, standing outside its door as she felt powerless to help.

Beast hardly had an idea what he was doing. Rage blinded him as he ripped through all bandages that were on the ground, smashed the bowl of water to the floor as hard as he could, tried to crawl over to the chair, despite the terrible pains in his leg and tail, and dug his nails in the fabric covering it, biting its wooden feet and pushing it over, trying to lift and smash it, but failing miserably and instead turning to the carpet to rip through it, roaring as he felt his heart beating in his throat, the anger making every drop of blood in his body boil.

No emotion had ever been more powerful inside Beast than anger. It was so powerful that in the middle of this rage, Beast roared and got to his feet, the pain of his wounds apparently no longer his own, and he went over to the fireplace, taking a large landscape painting from the wall above it and smashing it to the floor for at least half a dozen times, each strike harder than the previous one, until it finally fell apart. In one powerful swing, he swiped all the chalices of the mantelpiece and they fell scattered to the floor.

As one of the chalices landed on his foot, a sting of pain went through him and for a moment, he felt the other pain returning as well. He fell to the floor by the fireplace and realized he hardly had enough energy left to breathe.

With his arms around his face as he stared at the ground below him, he felt not only the pain, but also his consciousness returning. Breathing heavily, he recognized the feeling and felt horrified. He hadn't done this in years. He had been past this. Or so he had thought. But he had been _so_ mistaken and grief overtook him that instant. He didn't want to look. He didn't want to see. He didn't want to imagine what the servants would say if they found out. But most of all, he didn't want to imagine how much damage he had done to Belle's view of him. But this was what he had wanted, right? For her to be too afraid of him to get close?

_But not in this way…_ He had never wanted to go through this anger again, yet he had been unable to stop it. He had just given in to it. It was always so much easier than fighting it, but he should have tried! Surely Belle would never speak to him again… And though on one hand, Beast knew he should feel relieved because of that, he felt pain for losing all self-control. So badly.

His shoulders shook as he felt like crying, moaning from the pain he felt in his leg as well as from the hate he felt for himself at the moment. He had been so content with himself for the last years and now he had betrayed himself. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to the ground, feeling as though his head was split in two. "So sorry." How had he been able to lose all self-control like this? She hadn't even been angry with him. She had just _killed_ him with kindness and he had been unable to deal with it. _Unwilling_ to deal with it. Desperation filled him and he cried, for the first time in many years. _If it weren't for that stupid curse…_

The sounds in the parlor room had abruptly stopped, and all was now silent. Belle bit her lip and hoped nothing was seriously wrong. Though she realized things already _were_ seriously wrong. She trembled as she slowly moved through the door and she lifted her hands in front of her mouth as she looked around. It was incredible that the mess in the parlor room had been created in only a few minutes… Sharp pieces of porcelain were spread throughout the room and even pieces of wood from the now broken chair lay meters away from what was left of the chair. Stuffing from the chair's pillows danced across the ground as the wind from her dress moving about blew it away. Belle avoided stepping into any pieces as she moved across the room on her bare feet, shivering as she laid eyes on Beast. His shoulders shook as he lay on the ground, his face down and his struggled breathing heavy and inhibited at the same time. Belle couldn't help but feel pity at this sight. He looked as though he had given his all in the battle against the room, but had lost even against the lifeless and broken objects. She slowly and quietly moved closer, a little afraid of the idea of Beast losing it again, but hoping he was past it now as she sat on her knees besides him.

Beast was cursing himself and questioning how he could have lost all control. He knew that he would have to look around at some point. He had to see the damage he had done. He knew that. But he just wasn't ready for it yet. As he battled inwardly about what he should do now, he had a strange sensation as though someone was stroking through the hair on his head. Confused as he was, he knew that this time it would not be Belle. He had taken care of that by scaring her away. He was probably delusional and maybe the feeling only came from a deeper urge within to be comforted. But now it didn't comfort him at all. It only reminded him of what he would never have and he allowed his miserable thoughts to overtake him even more.

Belle was a little startled when he only started crying more underneath her touch. She had expected him to tell her to leave him alone or to sit up straight and pretend to be fine. But not this. She found it hard to fight her own tears as she tried to hush his tears. "It's alright," she whispered. "It's alright."

Beast froze as he realized his apparent hallucination was no hallucination at all.

Belle noticed this and quickly withdrew her hand, afraid she had just woken… a Beast. She didn't dare to breathe as he moved his head and it suddenly turned towards her. She felt a rush of relief as she realized his eyes were as tear-filled as hers and there was no aggression in them whatsoever.

"Belle," he stated blankly, unable to understand why she was here. "I-I told you to go."

"I'm not a servant," Belle quickly excused herself. "I don't always do as I'm told." She attempted a smile, but he didn't respond to it at all. The gaze he set upon her looked empty, maybe confused, and Belle figured that it was much too late to talk about anything. "I'll help you to your room," she suggested, standing up and reaching out her hand to him. "You need rest."

Beast nodded weakly. He didn't want to be here when the servants found out what he had done to their parlor. He tried to get up, but found that he could barely lift his hands from the ground.

Belle quickly went to his aid when she noticed how he was struggling to get into a standing position. She tried to help him by lifting him by his waist, but he _was_ heavy.

Beast felt guiltier than ever as Belle helped him up, once again proving she was fearless as she supported him under his shoulder and held her arm around his waist to make sure he wouldn't collapse. Was she as unimpressed by his earlier demonstration of aggression as she appeared to be? How could she still be clinging onto kindness after what he had done?

"You don't have to do this," Beast remarked, biting his teeth against the pain as she supported him so he could get through the room.

Belle didn't dare to look at him as she helped him take the first steps through the room. He could hardly walk on his injured foot and his tenseness betrayed how much pain he felt with every little move. "No, I _have_ to do this," she insisted.

Beast stopped still and took a deep breath as another sting of pain went through his leg. "But why?" he demanded to know, his voice impatient.

As they left the parlor and moved towards the stairs, Belle dared to look up at him in the darkness. "Because… I think… If it were me in your place, I wouldn't want to deal with it on my own…" She averted his eyes before he could say anything. "One step at a time," she said quickly as they reached the flight of stairs. She hoped his room wasn't in the highest tower possible.

"What would you want then?" Beast asked her in return, panting as he moved up the stairs. He watched her closely as she thought about his question, her face hinting a little sadness.

"I think I'd want… kindness," she replied honestly. "Instead of the coldness of facing everything alone." She turned her head slightly and glanced up at him for a moment. "What would you want?"

Beast found himself staring in her eyes as she asked him that question. He slowly shook his head and replied truthfully: "I… don't know."

Belle nodded patiently. He was a confused Beast for sure… But this was hardly an appropriate time to try and go more in-depth. She had to focus on bringing him to his room.

* * *

As they slowly and quietly moved through the dark and empty corridors of the huge castle, Belle realized fully how huge this place was. It was tiring to support Beast for such a long distance and so many flights of stairs, but she didn't consider leaving him.

In the dark shadows, she often felt like the stone gargoyles were looking at them and she felt grateful that Beast was near. Though he had proven to be more violent than any creature of stone, Belle couldn't explain why she wasn't repulsed by him.

As they climbed up the stairs of the West Wing, Beast started feeling uneasy. _To the door of my room, but no further… _He feared that she would see the rose. There were too many questions he didn't want to answer.

In the first hallway of the West Wing already Belle noticed that this was not like the rest of the castle. It was darker and there were hardly any windows at all. Belle found it hard to make out anything in the darkness, but she saw broken objects were scattered all over the floor. There were many busts of gargoyles and demons, broken with cracks all over the carved faces. And there were also broken chairs and tables and empty frames, covered in dust. Belle felt uneasy as she realized she was supporting the one being in the castle that was the cause of this destruction. She realized even more that she didn't know him at all. It seemed that the more time she spent with him, the more he managed to confuse her vision of him.

"Did you do this?" she asked nervously, gesturing to everything around them as they hardly avoided walking into a broken stool.

Beast sighed deeply. They were nearly there now, but if she truly wanted to know… "Yes," he replied honestly. "Though, I have to say… a long time ago."

"How long ago?" Belle wondered, realizing she didn't even have a clue how old he was. For all she knew, he could be hundreds of years old.

"Years ago," Beast replied shortly.

"How many years ago?" Belle asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

Beast stopped as they reached the door to his room and as Belle's hand reached for the gargoyle head on the door, Beast took it and stopped her.

"A few," Beast replied, leaning against the wall for support as he stepped away from Belle, still holding on to her hand. He couldn't help but notice how cold it felt without her against him… Or perhaps she just made him feel warmer when she was close. He tried to dismiss that thought as he let go of her completely. "My room is through here," he said shortly, trying to avoid looking in her eyes, even though it was dark and he wouldn't have been able to read her expression well anyway.

Belle nodded, understanding from the way he was distancing himself that he didn't want her to go in. "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, of course," he replied quickly, clearing his throat afterwards, unsure what to say.

Belle noticed that he was at a loss for words and decided to make it a little easier for him. "Good night," she whispered and she turned around and headed out.

Beast felt guilt eating at him as he watched her walk through the hall, away from him again. "Belle, I…" He gulped as she turned around again and looked at him. He didn't know what he wanted to say, but he felt like he wouldn't fall asleep at all if he didn't say the right thing. "I'm sorry… if I scared you."

Belle gazed at him as he stood against his door, looking as though he didn't know what to do with himself. Once again she felt sorry for him. "It's okay," she said, nodding bravely. "I'm sure it wasn't your intention."

Beast couldn't agree to that. It _had_ been his intention. But this night, things had unfolded unlike he had ever wanted. He had done things that were inexcusable, even to him. And worse, he had done them to Belle. There was no excuse. She deserved a little kindness. It was the least he could do. "You are very kind. _Too_ kind, even. I… I don't deserve that."

Belle took another step forward, convinced that he needed to get something of his chest, but instead, when she moved, he backed into the door even more, quickly reaching for the gargoyle head with his hand, as though he needed to escape. Belle didn't take another step forward and instead just stood there, watching in disbelief as he opened the door, said a quick "Good night" and limped into the room before she had a chance to argue.

As the door to his room closed, Belle couldn't help the tears that came. She couldn't explain why she was crying. Confusion was the cause, most likely. She didn't have a clue what to do. She felt alone now that she was by herself in the scary West Wing. She quickly made her way through the long corridor, trying to ban all thoughts of why Beast was… _Beast_.

Belle imagined she saw something move against the wall and froze instantly. But when she looked closer, she saw it was only her own reflection in a mirror that had been shattered. She moved closer and let her finger slide over one of the pieces of glass, examining her own reflection as she did so. She didn't recognize the girl she saw. Never before had she looked so… haunted. Her cheeks looked flustered and her eyes were hollow and wet with tears. "What's wrong with me?" she whispered to her reflection, unable to understand how her life had changed so drastically in just a few days.

As she let her fingers slide against the mahogany frame of the mirror, she suddenly noticed that the beautiful frame was marked. Four long scratches had been carved through the wood at the bottom of the frame. Belle sighed as she realized who had done this. "What's wrong with Beast?" she wondered as she inspected the markings. Why had he gotten mad this evening? And why had he gotten mad those years before, leaving these marks on the mirror frame… And slamming the mirror glass so hard it had broken? Where had his agony come from? Belle didn't understand as she gazed into her own hollow eyes. Even they didn't seem to hold any wisdom.

* * *

Beast panted in pain as he dropped himself on the bed, realizing too late that dropping himself right on his tail wasn't the smartest thing to do. "Ow!" he moaned into his pillow, cursing his own stupidity for letting himself fall on the bed like that.

He adjusted his position so that he was a little more comfortable and gazed at the rose. "Stupid rose!" he cursed. "Without you, I wouldn't have gone mad!" Tonight he had no appreciation whatsoever for the pretty light that shone from it. Tonight he felt like he had felt so many years ago, angry with the rose for mocking him... for reminding him of the curse. "Without you, I could like Belle!" he said to the rose, not at all considering how foolish it was to talk to a flower. "I wouldn't have to worry about her liking me either, then!" Beast gulped as he realized how much he _did_ like her. And he wouldn't mind her liking him… if it didn't hold the risk of returning to his human form. Perhaps they could have been friends, if it hadn't been for the rose. It was all the rose's fault.

Beast wondered if Belle was alright. Did she actually know her way back to her room? It was such a large castle! She wouldn't have gotten lost now, would she?

His eyes darted across the small table on which the rose stood and he noticed the mirror. Despite the pain, he didn't hesitate to get up and quickly snatched it from the table before carefully lying down again. He held the mirror in his hands, but cast a quick look across the room to make sure nobody was there before he faced it. "Show me… Show me Belle," he said with a little hesitation in his voice. He had hardly ever used the mirror ever since he got it. There had never been anything of real interest he had wanted to see, but now…

At first the mirror appeared to be lifeless. But then a ray of light shot from it and the next moment Beast could see Belle standing in a dark area. He looked closer and realized that she hadn't even left the West Wing! She was standing opposite the mirror in the hallway, with one of her hands on the frame, gazing at her own reflection.

Beast felt his heart skip a beat. Though she looked remarkably beautiful to him, he couldn't help wondering why she wasn't on her way to her room. Why was she just standing there? Beast hardly dared to breathe as he looked at her lovely face and the blank expression that was on it. When she finally moved, Beast saw that she was wiping tears from her eyes, before she suddenly turned and left the West Wing. Beast felt no shame looking at her as she moved through the corridors and several flights of stairs on her way to her room. She was gorgeous. And if she would ever kill him with kindness again, he secretly thought it wouldn't be such a bad death. Something inside of him wanted her to be near him again, to let her fingers run through his hair. Beast hated to admit to himself that he _could_ actually fall in love with her. Even worse… He realized that he already _was_ falling in love with her as he noticed that his stomach seemed a little upset, even though he hadn't eaten anything in hours! He quickly put the mirror under his pillow, realizing that looking at Belle was only causing the feeling to grow.

"Why?" he moaned, running his hands through his hair. "Why now?"

He had to figure out a way to deal with this. He had to. But not now. As he turned on his side and attempted to fall asleep, he found that he couldn't ban certain visions from his head: Belle sitting next to him and stroking through his hair, comforting him; Belle hugging him as he had attempted to help her; Belle worrying over his state of health as he lay on the floor; Belle supporting him bravely as she helped him to his room… But most hauntingly, there was the image of Belle, leaving the room in terror before he had completely lost it, and the thought that maybe, _maybe_ it had really been for the best. Maybe one day she would find herself a prince… But it would _not_ be him. She would always know him as a Beast. He wouldn't allow it to be different.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _Oddly enough this was even longer than the previous chapter… Over 10 000 words! But… I'm very happy with this one! Major hugs to Trudi for beta'ing! Did you like it?_


	9. Aftermath

**Chapter 9: Aftermath**

The next morning, Lumière and Cogsworth woke early and curiously made their way to the parlor. They wondered if Belle had stayed with Beast all through the night. They also hoped their master would be forgiving. After all, that same night he had been rather nasty to them, roaring that they had to leave the room.

Upon entering the parlor, the cheerful bickering between the two objects died down and they gazed around with their mouths open, horrified by what they saw.

Lumière walked between the pieces of debris, stopping for a moment when he saw bandages torn apart, as well as Belle's cloak, hardly a cloak anymore. He gulped, worried about Belle.

"Wh-what on earth happened here?" Cogsworth asked in a frightened voice as he investigated the broken chair. "D-did the master do this?"

Lumière furrowed his brow. "I doubt anyone else did this," he replied darkly.

"B-but Belle! What happened to her?" Cogsworth looked genuinely scared, afraid something horrible had happened.

"I hope she's in better shape than her cloak," Lumière muttered as he lifted pieces of her cloak.

"Did the master do this?" Cogsworth wondered again in a voice of disbelief. "He hasn't lost control like that in years!"

"Well, we are going to find out!" Lumière said decidedly. "We have to look for them. If you investigate the West Wing, I will see if Belle's in her room."

"Right," Cogsworth said, nodding bravely before he suddenly figured out he was the one being sent into the master's territory. "But _wait_! Why do _I_ have to go to the West Wing?" Cogsworth anxiously wrung his hands.

Lumière rolled his eyes. "Aren't you the one supposed to attend to all the master's needs?"

Cogsworth was about to argue, but realized Lumière was right. He had a duty to do. "I suppose you're right," he sighed. "It's just that he sort of… _tried to kill me_ yesterday." Cogsworth laughed nervously.

"We_ all_ feel like killing you some days," Lumière tried to cheer him up.

Cogsworth frowned in an insulted matter. "That doesn't mean that you actually _try_."

Lumière chuckled shortly, before the mess around him reminded him that it was important he figured out what had gone on that night and he got serious again. "Well, there is no time to waste! Let's hurry!"

Cogsworth nodded and the two servants hurried out of the parlor. Cogsworth went to the West Wing and Lumière to Belle's room, in the other part of the castle.

When Lumière finally arrived at Belle's room, he leaned against the door, listening for any sound within. He startled as he heard loud snoring. He hadn't imagined Belle to be a snoring-type of lady. Quietly opening the door and glancing inside, he discovered that the horribly loud snoring had come from the wardrobe, not from Belle at all.

Lumière hopped closer, as quietly as he could, and jumped on a chair on which Belle had put her red dress. Lumière noticed that the dress had rips in it, but these had been caused by the wolves, not by the master. He turned to look at Belle and saw she was sleeping soundly, too tired to even stir as Lumière tried to draw the attention of the wardrobe.

"Psst! Hello?! Wake up, Madame!" Lumière whispered, but the wardrobe didn't stir either.

Lumière jumped off the chair again and hopped over to the wardrobe, hitting her wood with his candles. "Wake up!"

The wardrobe's snoring stopped and she opened her eyes slowly and looked around disoriented, as though she had never been woken in this matter before.

"Madame!" Lumière whispered as he waved his candles. "Madame, over here!"

The wardrobe looked down and saw Lumière, trying to get her attention. She wondered why he was whispering. She glanced at the bed and saw Belle was sleeping there. As Lumière motioned to her to follow him outside, she nodded and complied.

Lumière pulled the door closed behind them and spoke up. "Madame, I'm sorry for waking you…" He restrained himself from adding 'even though it is well past ten' and coughed instead. "But I need to know under which circumstances Mademoiselle Belle arrived in the room last night."

The wardrobe was a little surprised by the question. "I'm sorry, but I fell asleep well before midnight. I hadn't even expected her to sleep in this room! I assumed she was sleeping in the other room again."

"You did not hear her enter?" Lumière asked to be sure.

The wardrobe nodded. "I did not. Why, you look upset. Is something wrong?"

Lumière shook his head. "_Wrong_ might be an understatement. Do you even know what happened last night?"

Lumière figured from the wardrobe's clueless face that she hadn't even heard of Belle's attempt to escape. Lumière quickly told her how the master had wanted to help her out and how they had had an unpleasant encounter with the wolves. He also told the wardrobe how Belle had been unwilling to leave the master's side when they had moved him to the parlor later on, and this caused the wardrobe to squeal excitedly. Lumière however, didn't look as excited as he continued his story.

"The master got mad at us when he finally woke, which must have been an hour past midnight. Cogsworth and I ran for it and, honestly, I was hoping the private time together would bring them closer together. But I'm afraid we shouldn't have left them alone at all… When Cogsworth and I returned to the parlor, just now, we saw the room was a mess. It looks like the master lost all self-control last night and just… destroyed the entire room. Cogsworth is checking on the master right now and I came to see if mademoiselle Belle was still… alive, really."

The wardrobe gasped, clearly unsettled by the idea Belle had had to witness any of the master's rage. "Do you think she was actually _there_ when he lost it?"

"I do not know!" Lumière answered in a frustrated voice. "I was hoping you could tell me! Maybe you had heard her crying or you could tell me in what spirit she returned to the room… Perhaps she left him on his own and he lost control afterwards. Perhaps she noticed _nothing_ at all! Please, _do_ be careful with what you say to Mademoiselle Belle! The last thing she needs to know is that the master has the ability to wreck entire rooms in a matter of minutes!"

The wardrobe nodded in agreement. "I shall watch my tongue. Do you want me to wake her or just let her sleep?"

"Just let her sleep," Lumière quickly replied. "We do not even know how long she was with the master before she returned to her room. Maybe she only fell asleep a few hours ago. But if you figure out anything about the situation, do tell. I will send Mrs. Potts with some tea, for when she wakes up."

The wardrobe nodded. "Good idea! I will return and make sure I don't fall asleep as I wait for her to wake!"

Lumière rolled his eyes. "Make sure you do not fall asleep again. Your snoring could wake her!"

The wardrobe gasped in an insulted matter. "I snore?!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Cogsworth was making his way through the West Wing. He was trembling, unsure what he was going to find. Maybe he shouldn't be overreacting, he tried to reassure himself. Maybe the master wasn't even there!

Bracing himself, he opened the door to the master's room slowly and peeked through the gap. "Good morning, your highness!" he greeted the master quietly and with a shaky voice, even though he didn't know if Beast was even there.

Hearing no reply, Cogsworth was relieved. Perhaps the master wasn't there after all? Perhaps he wasn't angry? Or perhaps he was… Cogsworth froze as he was suddenly struck with the awful possibility of the master being dead.

No, seriously, that would be so… unexpected… But wasn't death always unexpected? He could put nothing past the master, being who he was. Cogsworth had been in a situation much like this once before, long ago, and the silence in the room unsettled him as he relived a particularly bad memory.

As Cogsworth quietly moved across the room, he saw the master was lying in his bed and he felt a rush of gratitude as he noticed the master's chest was moving up and down as he breathed.

Cogsworth crawled onto the table which held the rose and looked at the master. Even as a Beast, he hardly looked dangerous while he slept. Nothing would have betrayed that he'd recently flown into a fit of destructive rage, had Cogsworth and Lumière not stumbled upon the parlor. At the moment he looked utterly peaceful.

Cogsworth waited for hours. It was past noon when the master finally stirred, stretched himself with a loud yawn and opened his eyes. Realizing that the master hadn't spotted him, Cogsworth coughed to make his presence known. Beast turned his head instantly, looking at his head of the household with a blank expression.

"Good morning, master!" Cogsworth greeted him nervously, unable to stop his hands from shaking. "Did you sleep well?"

Beast moaned and turned around in his bed. He could do without Cogsworth's company first thing in the morning. He had just woken up! As he sighed deeply, memories of what had happened the evening and night before slowly returned to him. He moved his injured foot slightly, and winced as a twinge of pain went through it. As he remembered how he had destroyed the parlor and Belle had helped him back to his room, his insecurity grew. Had Cogsworth heard anything? Had Belle told them? Did they know that he had lost control? Deciding not to jump to conclusions, he remained silent. If Cogsworth had anything to say, he would certainly say it.

Cogsworth didn't know what to do when Beast turned his back on him. Perhaps it was best to find out whether the master was still angry with him before he continued the conversation. "Master, I would like to apologize for my actions of last evening," Cogsworth started slowly and uncertainly. "A large part of the blame for the damage you suffered at the mercy of the wolves is my own. I didn't respond quickly enough. I have been eaten up with guilt at the thought that the harm inflicted upon you and Miss Belle could have been prevented if I had ordered the gate to open sooner. I beg you for forgiveness."

Beast remained quiet in his bed, even though he knew Cogsworth awaited a reply. It just seemed to him that any mistake Cogsworth had made was minuscule compared to the mistake he had made himself that night. Cogsworth's error could be easily forgiven when placed in the light against his own aggressive attack on the parlor. In front of Belle, no less. Even if he feared her falling in love with him, nothing could justify the fact that he had lost his temper in front of her.

"Master?" Cogsworth asked after a few moments, afraid that the master had just fallen asleep again. When the master turned around again, Cogsworth jumped a little, but the master didn't seem angry and this relaxed the clock a little.

"Let's not mention it again," Beast replied slowly, his voice still deep with sleep.

Cogsworth nodded eagerly, a little surprised that the master would want to forget it so quickly already. "Agreed, sir!" Cogsworth said gratefully. This was_ very_ good indeed!

Beast stared at the rose as he thought deeply. Perhaps it was best if he just told Cogsworth what had happened that night. _Somebody_ was going to need to clean the parlor anyway. He took a deep breath and blurted it out: "I wrecked the parlor last night."

Cogsworth kept quiet for a moment, unsure how to reply. He knew this already. "What happened, sir?" he asked gently, careful to not sound as though he blamed him for it. That would be a sure way to get him angry.

"I…I don't know," Beast replied truthfully, avoiding Cogsworth's gaze. "It just… happened. Before I realized it much…"

Cogsworth nodded patiently, but as Beast kept quiet again, he cleared his throat. He had to know. "Did Miss Belle see?"

"I think so," Beast answered with a little hesitation in his voice.

"You're not sure?!" Cogsworth replied, a little too quickly for his own liking.

Beast sighed. "I yelled at her and told her to leave and she did… And then… I lost it… But… she returned, when it was over... I _think_ she saw. I'm not sure."

Cogsworth was a little surprised. "She returned?" he wondered out loud. "Well that sounds very… _kind _of her."

"She_ is_ very kind…" Beast replied quietly, still avoiding Cogsworth's eyes.

Cogsworth was a little startled by the soft tone in which the master had said this. Did he actually… _care_ for her? He couldn't help a smile.

"What did she say?" Beast suddenly asked and for the first time, he fixed his gaze on his head of household. Inside of him, a voice was scolding him for even _wanting_ to know. He shouldn't allow himself to think about her this much.

Cogsworth was a little taken aback. "I… I don't know, master! I don't even know if she's awake yet. I've been in your room for quite a while, waiting for you to wake up. It's past noon already!"

Beast was a little surprised to hear that. "It is? It must have been really late last night then…"

"I don't know, sir. It was late already when Lumière and I left. How long did you and Belle-"

The door suddenly opened and Lumière came hopping in cheerfully. Cogsworth was a little frustrated that the candlestick would come to interrupt the conversation just as he had been about to find out what exactly had happened the night before. He hadn't even knocked or anything! With his hands impatiently on his side, Cogsworth addressed Lumière. "What is so urgent that you forgot the common courtesy of knocking, Lumière?"

Lumière grinned excitedly as he climbed on the table and merrily patted Cogsworth on the shoulder. "I bring good news!" he announced happily. He turned to the master, who looked confused. "Mademoiselle Belle has asked to see you. She suggested breakfast. Or lunch," Lumière quickly corrected, reminding himself it was a little too late to be having breakfast.

Beast gazed at Lumière with his mouth open. _Belle wanted to see him?_ She wanted to eat something with him? That made no sense. She should have been too terrified to ever speak to him again, after what he had done last night. Shouldn't she be trying to avoid him instead? "Wh-what else did she say?" Beast wondered out loud, staring at Lumière.

Lumière could hardly contain his enormous smile. He had just come from Belle's room and it appeared he had severely overreacted. Belle hadn't been upset at all. So even if the master _had_ lost his temper that night, it appeared to have left no trauma on Belle whatsoever. Lumière was grateful for that. "Well, I did not exactly speak to her myself!" Lumière hastily told the master and Cogsworth, who were both listening intently. "I went into her room earlier this morning, though, and saw she was sleeping as softly as a pretty rose." Lumière sighed romantically as he remembered the beautiful sight, before he quickly continued. "I let her sleep and asked Mrs. Potts to go into her room and wait for her to wake. When she woke, less than an hour ago, Mrs. Potts talked to her a little bit. I was listening by the door, but did not hear much. Mrs. Potts did not talk to her for long though, and when she came out, she told me that Belle had not looked upset at all. In fact, the first thing she had asked was whether _you_ were alright!"

Beast gulped as he heard this. Was she actually this worried about him? He didn't know what to think… What to _feel_. It warmed his heart to know that somebody actually cared. But Beast felt uneasy that it was Belle. He liked her too much. She was the only one that could possibly do what he dreaded most: break the curse. But… she was also the only person he had ever liked. He didn't know whether to invite her for tea or to send her out of the castle to never return again!

"Mrs. Potts also asked how it had been last night, and Mademoiselle Belle replied that it had been _nice_."

"Nice?" Beast interrupted Lumière incredulously. Was Belle suffering from brain damage? How could she think of last night as _nice_?! Okay, perhaps not the entire night had been as disastrous as the moment when he had lost his temper… but _nice_?! Had she actually enjoyed being with him that much?

"Yes, she said the word _nice_!" Lumière quickly confirmed. "She also told Mrs. Potts that you had helped her with her bandage and that you had behaved like a true gentleman." Lumière couldn't help but feel overcome with a growing sense of pride. He nearly cried tears of joy. "See, master, I _knew_ you had it in you! Finally the efforts of all those lessons in etiquette are showing! And I had almost given up hope!"

Not only Beast had trouble keeping up, but so did Cogsworth. The clock felt a bit dazzled by all the news and turned to his master. "Perhaps Miss Belle didn't see you lose your temper after all?"

Beast shook his head. "No. She saw. She _must_ have seen." Beast was now starting to wonder if _he_ was the one suffering from brain damage. But how could Belle have said he behaved like a true gentleman? That night she had even said, to his face, that teaching him manners would be a waste of time! How could she speak so kindly of him? "Didn't she say anything about me… getting angry?"

"No, master," Lumière answered honestly. "She only had kind words. And she asked if she could see you. Mrs. Potts went to the kitchen with her, I am sure she is waiting for you there. Let us hurry and we shall help you get dressed!" Lumière eagerly jumped off the table, waiting for the master to get out of bed.

But Beast didn't move. He felt petrified. This was all going too quickly for him. If Belle truly spoke this highly of him, the chance that she was falling in some sort of love with him was increasing too rapidly for Beast's liking. It scared him. How could she feel this way after how he had behaved? He could hardly come face to face with himself, he was so ashamed about what had happened that night. How could she want to see him? "I-I can't," Beast suddenly said.

Cogsworth and Lumière were a little surprised and turned to him in concern. "What is wrong, master?" Cogsworth asked in a tone that mingled worry and despair. He was worried because it sounded like there was a genuine reason for the master's concern, but he was also getting desperate… They had less than a month. Was that even enough _time_ for the two of them to fall in love?

"I can't even get out of bed," Beast quickly said, hoping that the excuse would be good enough to keep more difficult questions out of his way. He wasn't lying either: his leg hurt too much to actually walk on.

Lumière frowned, assuming that the only reason the master was saying this was because he was still not willing to break the curse. "Do not be ridiculous, master!" Lumière said sternly in an aggravated voice. "If you can not get out of bed, how did you get _into_ bed last night? If you could move from the parlor to the West Wing, you can now also move to the kitchen and down with Mademoiselle Belle!"

Beast didn't like Lumière's tone at all. "I'm not being ridiculous! I'm being honest!" Beast shouted in despair. "Belle _helped_ me to my room! Without her you would have found me in the parlor this morning!"

Cogsworth's eyes grew large in fear. "Y-you mean… Miss Belle was in _here_? Sh-she saw the rose?"

"No!" Beast quickly replied, turning to Cogsworth to reassure him. "No, she didn't come in my room! I didn't let her beyond the door. She didn't see the rose."

Lumière was lost in thought. "Hmmm… Good. A good way to avoid difficult questions… But still… Master, have you yet considered _telling _her of the curse?"

Beast and Cogsworth both turned to Lumière with large eyes and their jaws dropped.

"What?!" Cogsworth appeared to be outraged by the idea alone. "Have you ever considered the consequences?!"

Lumière shrugged. "What consequences? As far as I know, the Enchantress never mentioned any consequences of telling the truth."

Cogsworth still had his mouth opened in horror. "Well just because she never _mentioned_ consequences, doesn't mean we can just walk up to Miss Belle and say: learn to love our master and he will turn into a handsome prince."

Beast gulped. He didn't like the idea one bit and was glad that Cogsworth was with him on this one. Telling her of the curse was… Well it seemed pitiful. Like he desperately needed her to give him a chance and she would get rewarded if she did. And besides, even if he wanted her to give him a chance, he did not want the curse to break. Somewhere inside, he _did_ long for her to be in his company, but not if that meant that he would have to become a prince – or even worse, a king.

"Why not?" Lumière argued. "It might only speed up her falling in love with him! Does not every girl dream of a charming prince? We cannot wait forever! Time is ticking away! You are a clock, you should know that!"

"There will be _no_ telling!" Beast interrupted the argument threateningly. Even if he _was_ willing to break the curse, he wouldn't want her to fall in love with him out of pity. "Belle will _not_ come into this room and we will _not_ show her the rose and _nobody_ is to mention a word about how we all were before the curse. Consequences or not."

Cogsworth nodded quickly and looked at Lumière viciously. "Well said, master."

Lumière frowned and folded his arms. It was stupid that they wouldn't even _consider_ the advantage of telling Belle the truth. It would make things so much easier.

"As for Belle…" Beast continued slowly, thinking over the best way to deal with her. She still wanted to see him for lunch, but Beast felt like he couldn't. He was nervous. What on earth could he say to her after the way he had behaved? How could he make up for his appalling behavior? He could not comprehend why she would even want to be with him. The confusion angered him a little, but he tried his best to control it. "I can not see her until I am better…" he decided. It would be best for him. He wasn't ready for her. Not while somewhere inside of him, his emotions were unstable and his hopes were torn between pushing her away and drawing her near. "I must stay in my room to heal. A few days, I think. She must not come here. Lumière, I want you to stand guard in front of the door… She knows where my room is now and I fear that she might come to see me whether it's against the rules or not…" Beast had to resist a smile as he remembered her saying last night that she was not a servant and did not always do as told. He had to thank her for giving him the heads up… But he was not letting her in his room. Even if he wanted to see her again, he knew deep down that it was for the best if he didn't. "Cogsworth, I want you to go to the kitchen. Make sure Belle gets everything she needs. And I'm hungry too, prepare something for me as well and have them send it up. Tell Belle I…" Beast frowned, thinking hard about what would be the right thing to tell her. He had no experience around women… no idea what was the best message to give her. He did not want her to _dislike _him, but he didn't want her to like him _too_ much either. "Tell her I thank her for her efforts of last night and that I wish for her to enjoy her lunch."

Cogsworth nodded eagerly, overjoyed that the master was being so polite.

Beast scratched his neck as he tried to come up with something to balance out those kind words. "Then tell her that I cannot join her until I am fit enough to get out of bed and tell her that I… need to catch up on some sleep. Tell her that…" Beast furrowed his brow in agony, feeling like everything he was saying was _too_ nice, especially if he wanted to keep her at a distance. The truth would be: I want you to come to my room and have lunch with me. Beast shook those thoughts away. No, the truth was a bad idea… But maybe it was _okay_ to be nice, as long as Belle didn't come up to his room. "Well tell her to stay away from my room," Beast blurted out the last bit, unable to be more eloquent.

Lumière chuckled, finding the master's attempt at giving Belle a kind message a little humorous. "How about if Cogsworth tells her that you will send for her once you are fit enough, but that it might still be a few days? One would think she would respect that wish, right?"

Beast quickly nodded. "Good! Yes! Tell her that! That's perfect!" Beast felt relieved. The servants hadn't gotten angry at him for losing his temper and now they weren't even lecturing him or anything of the sort, just because he was trying so hard to be kind to Belle. It wasn't _that_ hard either to act that way. It felt like a small effort to get some peace. And not only that, but Lumière had just found the perfect excuse to keep Belle away from him for a few days. If she believed he would send for her, she would not go up to his room, right? That gave him the time to sort out his feelings and to, perhaps, get over them. "Okay, Lumière, I want you to go and guard my door. Now. I really think Belle would come here… Maybe she is already on her way. So go, now!"

Lumière nodded and headed to the door. He still didn't know if keeping the curse a secret was going to help them much, but for now, things were looking good. Belle had expressed interest in spending time with the master. The master had showed kindness towards the girl. That was more than anyone could have ever hoped for.

When the door closed behind Lumière, Beast turned to Cogsworth again: "Go and find Belle. Tell her… those things I said." Beast felt a little hesitant. He had said awfully _nice_ things. He really didn't want Belle to like him too much, but he didn't want his servants to mutiny upon him all the time either. He had to try it like this. Maybe this was the best way.

Cogsworth smiled warmly. "Right away, sir! Oh, I just have to admit that things haven't looked this brightly in years! I will let you know what Miss Belle has to say in return!" Cogsworth chuckled cheerfully and rushed out of the room, glad that he could be the bearer of _kind_ words for a change.

As his servants had left the room, Beast stared at the rose with his brow furrowed. He had won himself some time. He would not have to face Belle today and most likely not tomorrow either. Hopefully he would be able to avoid her company the day after as well. But her presence in the castle was becoming a problem… especially if she was developing feelings _for him_. She had to be developing _some_ feelings for him… If she wasn't, then why would she want to see him? Then why would she say he was nice when he wasn't? Was she blinded by love? Beast could remember Lumière telling him, on countless occasions, that love_ was_ blind. Perhaps, in Belle's case, her love was _so_ blind that she had already forgotten about his fit of aggression. Was that what it was?

Beast was relieved that he had a few days to think about it… This also meant that he had time to come up with a plan to stop her affections for him… and hopefully also _his_ affections for _her_.

* * *

Belle swung open the large door of the castle and ran outside. The sun was shining, even though it felt like it was getting colder. But Belle didn't feel the coldness of the wind through her new cloak. It was a thick winter cloak, made of exquisite red velour, trimmed with a soft and warm white fur. A bit too warm for the time of year, perhaps, but Belle's new red dress was quite chilly and she welcomed the warmth her cloak had to offer.

Belle hurried over the stone paths through the gardens, keeping her eyes open to spot Philippe. He had to be around somewhere. Chip had told her that he had seen her horse eating some roses in one of the gardens that very morning. He had found it very amusing and kept it to himself until Belle had enquired about Philippe.

Shortly after that, Cogsworth had entered the kitchen and he had explained to Belle that the master was not fit enough to leave his room yet and that he wished for Belle to enjoy her lunch without him. She had done so, but Cogsworth's words had lingered through her mind. Beast had even let Cogsworth thank her on his behalf, for her good care. Those words had warmed her and she found herself unable to stop thinking about Beast.

Soft whinnying betrayed Philippe's position behind one of the large hedges in the gardens. Belle smiled as she ran through one of the openings in the hedge, glad to be reunited with her old friend now that she felt so far from home.

"Philippe," she whispered gratefully as she embraced him, not even noticing how he was still chewing on leaves from the hedge. "It is good to see you…" She patted his mane distractedly, sighing deeply.

Philippe gulped down the last leaves and looked at his kind mistress. She was stroking his hair rather nicely, but she didn't seem to be paying much attention to him. Feeling like he deserved some more effort, Philippe whinnied again and nudged her shoulder.

Belle smiled when she realized that even Philippe had noticed something was on her mind. "Oh Philippe," she whispered kindly as she put her forehead against his. "I don't know if it's a good idea for us to stay here for too long…" She sighed again. "I feel like I'm changing… And I don't even know what the result will be… I can't even be myself…" She shook her head and smiled bitterly. "Lying to the servants, dismissing those things that should frighten me and seeking out that which could harm me… Or rather _he_ who could harm me… I'm so confused!"

Belle closed her eyes firmly and embraced Philippe fiercely, her thoughts in a turmoil. That which sounded horrible in her mind, felt like the right thing to do. She should be trying to keep out of Beast's way, but instead she felt like she had to seek him out. Was she developing an unhealthy obsession? Was she just losing her mind?

But there was kindness in him, too. He had even _thanked_ her!

This was her third day away from home and within her the urge to return grew... and not to go on to Florence, but to return to her father and the safe town of Molyneaux… She felt in need of a place where all was predictable and she was loved, if only by her father and, perhaps, Gaston. She had always dreamt of her very own adventure, but _this_ adventure was too much for her. Captive in the dark castle of an aggressive Beast… With no other company but him and his magical servants… Belle longed for guidance, for the knowledge on how she could get through this. No book had ever described anything like this adventure… Was Beast a demon she had to defeat? Was he the last of a noble kind? Or maybe a prince in disguise?

"I don't know what to do," she whispered softly. "I could stay in my room for an entire month, until I leave again. Then I would be safe, I think. But then there's Beast… He is so misunderstood… by everyone! Even _I _misunderstood him! But he can be dangerous too! And… and sweet! I can't make heads or tail of him! But I feel like… like he needs me." Belle's eyes met Philippe's, looking for confirmation.

Philippe stared at Belle blankly. What _was _she talking about?

Belle sighed and took Philippe's reins, realizing that her horse was _not_ going to be able to help her with words of guidance. While she led Philippe to the stables, she let her eyes wander over the vast, abandoned gardens. They were so empty and bare, so lifeless… What a horrible place to dwell in.

Belle looked up at the sky and saw birds flying over, high above them. Winter was slowly approaching and the birds would fly to the other side of the world to avoid the cold. Belle realized sadly that she was nothing like the birds. She had always dreamt of flying, but only days after leaving the nest, she was already longing badly to return. She had misjudged herself. She wasn't up for true adventure. More than anything, she wanted to return home, curl up in her bed with a book and be taken on _somebody else_'s adventure. Not to face Beast and his servants and all their surrounding secrets and mysteries on her own. It could be so dangerous! What had she gotten herself into?

Belle suddenly heard a bird whistling nearby and turned her head to see a little brown sparrow sitting on a large branch that lay on the ground underneath a tree. Belle smiled as she realized that she and Philippe weren't the only ones in the gardens. The sparrow hopped cheerfully over the long, forked branch, whistling a merry tune as it did so. Belle felt drawn to it and released Philippe's rein to step closer. But when she was just a few feet away, the sparrow flapped open its wings and flew away. Belle wasn't too disappointed. It was in the bird's nature to be mistrusting of strangers, and she hadn't even brought the bird any seeds. No wonder it had flew away.

Belle was about to turn around when her attention was drawn by a large forked branch. As her mind was spinning at full speed, she carefully picked up the long branch from the ground. "This is… _perfect_," she murmured as she inspected the branch. The branch was strong and sturdy and could easily support a human being… Or even a Beast. The forked ending was a little too high for Belle to put in her arm pit, but she imagined that it was just about the right size for Beast.

"Look here, Philippe!" Belle said excitedly as she walked to her horse, showing him the branch. "I could give this to Beast! He could use it as an aid for walking!"

Philippe looked at the branch and whinnied. Did she expect him to eat that or something?

Belle frowned as Philippe whinnied. "Maybe you're right…" she said. "It's just a stupid branch. He is the master of a gigantic castle. Surely there's something in there far more suitable as a walking aid?" Belle looked at Philippe's blank expression and nodded, hesitating a little bit. "True, I don't know either. But better safe than sorry… I mean, if he doesn't want it, he can still throw it out the window or something. Or have someone else throw it out of the window for him. Right?"

Deciding that it would be a nice thing to go and give Beast a little present, even if there was a chance he wouldn't like it much at all – after all, it was just a stupid stick – Belle took Philippe's rein in one hand and held the long branch in her other. "Let's get you to the stables. Maybe I'll be able to make it to Beast's room before dinner!"

* * *

It was past four in the afternoon when Belle got back to the castle. She had plenty of time to give Beast his gift before heading to dinner herself. Secretly, she hoped that Beast would be sleeping. If he was, she could just leave the present and get out of the room again. Perhaps she could write him a little note with it, for when he woke up. "_Get well soon! Here's a little gift to help you get around a little better… Or in case you don't need it, you could just use it to smack your servants with when they annoy you!_"

Belle chuckled. She would _not_ write that on a note. But she did think it was funny.

Upon reaching the stairs that led to the West Wing, Belle heard the sound of a cart rolling nearer and she grasped onto the branch tightly and quickly hid behind one of the stone gargoyles. She kept her eyes and ears open and witnessed how a few moments later, the silver cart rolled by with Cogsworth on top of it. The clock was humming cheerfully. Belle also noticed there were empty dishes on the cart. This probably meant that Beast had finished his lunch, even though it seemed a little late for that. Early dinner, perhaps?

As the sound of the silver cart rolling by died out, Belle emerged from her hiding place and hurried up the stairs to the West Wing. Even with the sun shining brightly outside, this part of the castle was a lot darker and Belle kept her eyes wide open to spot anything unusual as she neared Beast's room.

She froze in her steps when she suddenly imagined she saw the light of a flame behind a small wooden cupboard that lay shattered on the ground, close to the wall with the large door that led to Beast's room. When she heard a naughty chuckle and Babette's giggle, she knew the flame was Lumière's.

"Woo, Lumière! Stop burning me like that unless you want someone to find out we're here!" Belle heard Babette say in a teasing voice.

"Allez, mon chéri! Relax! The master is in his room and Cogsworth is gone. I would say we have a few moments to ourselves…"

Belle hardly dared to breathe as she heard how Lumière was kissing Babette somewhere – even though it seemed a bit absurd to be kissing a feather duster _anywhere_ – and how she returned his attention by affectionate giggles.

"Oh Lumière! After all these years you have not lost your touch!"

"And I never will!" he replied passionately. "Your dazzling smile is still as radiant as the first time we met. It set me on fire then and it only brightens my flame now. Human or not, I am unable to resist you! Surrender to my flames or be consumed by the hungry fire within your own heart…"

Babette swooned. "I surrender!" she replied weakly.

The silence that followed left Belle to assume they were… _kissing_. If this had been the conversation of two human beings, Belle could have felt very awkward overhearing them. But now, she was just confused. She made sure she passed them by unnoticed and she quietly opened the door.

She hurried through the door and slowly and carefully closed it behind her. Her mind was racing as she thought about Lumière and Babette. Hadn't Lumière said: human or not, I am unable to resist you? What had he meant by that? That it was even natural for magical objects to have human desires? Or that… they had been human once?

Belle brushed her thoughts aside and turned around, facing the large room. Just as in the hall leading up to the room, many things here were destroyed. Belle stepped past broken tables, chairs and cupboards on the ground, and avoided stepping on books that lay damaged on the floor. There were even pieces of glass and ripped curtains among the rest of the junk that covered the room. Belle wondered how anyone would want to live in such a place. Then her attention was drawn by a beautiful light that shone from the other side of the room.

Belle quietly moved closer to the magical rose, until she suddenly noticed that in the bed near it, Beast lay silently, staring at the rose as well. Belle glanced back at the rose and noticed she felt quite mesmerized by it. She could not remember seeing anything as beautiful. The magical light was so peaceful and enchanting, Belle didn't realize immediately that she was staring at it for quite a long time.

Fixing her gaze on Beast again, she noticed he hadn't seen her yet. Her heart pounded a little faster than usual. He wasn't sleeping, after all, and she was curious what he would have to say to her.

She cleared her throat and slowly walked over to him. "Good afternoon, Beast. How are you feeling?" Belle smiled at him warmly as she stopped by his bed and held out the large forked branch. "I brought you a gift!" Looking into his confused eyes, Belle slowed down and embraced the forked branch tighter as she insecurely took a step backward. "Maybe I should have wrapped it? I eh… found it outside and thought you – eh… might need it. Or perhaps you could use it for support, you see, because it's forked?" As his silence endured, Belle couldn't help but turn very red. This had been a bad idea… maybe a good way to embarrass herself, but a bad way to approach Beast.

Beast was startled; Belle had blindsided him. He hadn't noticed her presence in the room until she cleared her throat. She had started talking to him, or babbling really, but Beast had been too surprised to actually remind himself to _listen_. What on earth had she said to him? Why had she brought that large stick? And why was she blushing like mad?

But most importantly: _where on earth was Lumière?!_ Beast clenched his fists in frustration as he looked at Belle. She wasn't supposed to be here! No, he couldn't let himself get drawn in by her beauty. He had to stop the haze that had appeared in his brain the moment he had noticed her. He had to think clearly. He shouldn't mess around with feelings of love, but ignore them. He could not deal with this now: he was too weak in the aftermath of last night's outburst and the discovery of his own longing feelings.

Belle's blush disappeared and her face turned pale when she saw Beast furrow his brow and look around in anger. He wasn't looking _directly_ at her, but he wasn't looking anywhere near as peaceful as he had when she had entered the room. "I'm sorry!" she quickly apologized, taking a step backwards. "I shouldn't have come. I see you're getting angry again!" Belle gulped, not knowing if it was a wise thing to point that out. Unfortunately, magical castles with Beast-masters didn't come with manuals. "I'll leave you be…"

Beast watched as Belle put the branch against the corner of his bed and hurried away from him. Confusion filled Beast. Yes, she was going away like he had wanted… But she probably thought he was angry with her and he wasn't! It was Lumière that had let him down. And he had let himself down too… He should learn to control his emotions better. Once again she was the one suffering for his own incapacity to deal with his own aggression. "Wait!" He had called it out before he had even considered the consequences of spending more time with her, but somewhere inside he felt unable to just let her walk away like that. She deserved a little more kindness than his angry glares. He should save those for Lumière. Realizing he probably looked and sounded angrier than he should, Beast took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Belle did not need to suffer for his servant's mistakes.

Belle had stopped in the middle of the room and had turned around again, noticing how his temper was slowly fading away. And when he spoke this time, Belle felt relieved to hear his voice wasn't aggressive.

"Why did you bring me this stick?" he suddenly blurted out, curiosity overtaking him. He had to know.

Belle realized he probably hadn't understood much of what she had said earlier and she slowly walked closer again, picking up the branch to show him. "I thought you could use something to aid you in walking around. You can use this for support, see?" Belle handed him the branch and he inspected it. "I thought that, since it's forked, you can easily put it underneath your arm and move around."

Beast nodded, swinging the branch around a little. "Yes," he said absent-mindedly. "Or I could just use it to knock over Lumière!"

Belle chuckled, figuring once again that _sometimes_, he did think alike.

Beast put the branch down besides the bed and he gave Belle a probing look. She was smiling now and it made him uneasy. Her presence had raised several questions within him. Before she would do or say something which would raise even _more_ issues, he had to get answers. For his own sanity. He could not go on wondering why she was showering him with attention. If her affections were growing, he had to know in time. "Why did you come?"

Belle looked at him in confusion. Wasn't that obvious? "To give you your present and to see how you were doing," Belle replied honestly and matter-of-factly.

Beast nodded. It sounded logical what she said, but she had kept her motives hidden. "Why a present? Do I deserve a present then?"

"Eh… I think so… It's a get-well present… And it's not like it cost me a lot of effort… I admit, it is… rather cheap." Belle said this truthfully… If she hadn't stumbled upon the branch, she wouldn't have considered getting him anything. It had just seemed perfect as a walking aid.

Beast didn't know what to make exactly of her answer and the motive why she had gotten him anything. "So you're saying that I only deserve a _cheap_ present, right?" Beast asked her slowly, looking closely at her face to make sure he would spot her true intentions. If she had gotten him such a cheap present because she didn't think he deserved _more_, that meant that she didn't think _that_ highly of him after all and they were still in safe territory.

Belle frowned. She couldn't help but get the impression she was being interrogated. What was he fishing for? "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that… I kind of stumbled upon it and thought it would be nice as a gift."

Oh, good, so she hadn't really been looking for a gift for him: that was good to know… It had been a sort of _accidental_ kindness. She hadn't really planned it: it had been spontaneous. He probably shouldn't worry about it too much… But there was still the matter of her complimenting his behavior to the servants. What had that been all about? He decided to cut to what mattered. "Why did you tell the servants…"

"Hold on!" Belle interrupted him, feeling a little awkward standing around and answering everything he asked. "What's with all these questions?" Belle saw a small stool stand near his bed and walked over to it. "Can't we just - Woah!"

Belle had just sat down on the stool when it toppled over and she fell rather clumsily to the floor, in a heap, tangled in the cloak she was still wearing.

The sight of Belle sprawled on the floor, surprise plastered over her face, was so funny and unexpected that Beast couldn't help laughing. When he saw Belle scowl at him, he gulped and quickly fell quiet, fumbling with his hands in shame. He hadn't really meant to laugh, but it had looked so funny…

Belle got up again and glared at him angrily. Not only had he just laughed at her, he hadn't even asked her if she was alright! "And I'm perfectly fine, thanks for asking," she said sarcastically as she straightened out her cloak before taking it off and covering the broken stool with it. The cloak was much too warm for indoors anyway.

Beast furrowed his brow and looked at her worriedly, missing all sarcasm in her voice as he was too distracted by the revealing of her new, red dress. It was as pretty as the first, if not prettier. Upon realizing he was being quiet for too long, he spoke up. "I didn't ask you anything," he remarked quickly, forcing his gaze to break free from the dress. "But are you sure you're alright? Did you bump your head or something? You're imagining things."

Belle felt like moaning in frustration, but instead she took a deep breath and waited for her anger to pass. When it did, she sighed. "I can't believe you're so _daft_ at times…"

Beast looked at Belle in confusion as she went over to the little table that held the rose and casually leaned against it. "Daft?" he repeated blankly, unfamiliar with the expression. "What does _that _mean?"

Belle raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. Well, she hadn't expected him to be eloquent, really. But did she seriously have to explain him such a well-known word? O_uch._

Beast suddenly cheered up as he realized something. "It's an insult, isn't it?" If it was, that was good news. He usually hated insults, but if they came from Belle, it was a good thing because that meant she wasn't in love with him. But suddenly Beast was overcome with insecurity as he realized he didn't know the meaning of the word _daft_. Was it a really bad thing? Did Belle dislike him more than she let on?

"Sort of…" Belle replied cautiously, wondering why on earth Beast had looked so happy to be insulted, if only for just a moment. "And you're fine with that?"

"Yeah, no problem!" Beast quickly replied, deciding that wondering about his _daftness_ would keep him too long from the question he really wanted to ask. He could always ask Cogsworth what the word meant. "But now tell me, are you sure you didn't bump your head or something? Why did you tell the servants last night was_ nice_ and I behaved like a _true gentleman_? Unless you have really low standards, I don't believe either of those descriptions is truthful."

Belle looked at Beast in surprise. She hadn't thought the servants would tell their master all she had said. She slowly made her way over to the corner of Beast's bed and sat down on it, still as far from him as possible, but a bit more comfortable now she was sitting. She felt a little shy and lowered her voice. "Well, you told me yesterday that they were giving you a hard time… about manners and such. I figured that the last thing you needed was a bunch of scolding objects at your bed first thing in the morning after what happened last night, so I… _lied_. It was easier for me too… They found it a satisfactory answer, apparently, and didn't ask me too many questions… That would have been _awkward_…"

Beast's jaw had dropped and he stared at Belle absent-mindedly. So she hadn't actually _meant_ he was a true gentleman! She had said it to spare him the scolding. Beast felt very grateful for that. But at the same time, his heart dropped. So she didn't quite think highly of him… But once again, she had been kinder than she should have been. She had spared him some lectures and for that he was grateful. "Thanks!" he said sincerely, smiling in relief. "That's really…" Beast hesitated, trying to brush his own hurt feelings away. He tried to sound as optimistic as he could when he found the right word. "…clever! And it was pleasant to wake up without any scolding! I don't mind that you lied _at all_!"

Belle smiled awkwardly. His childish enthusiasm towards what she had done kind of unsettled her. The contrast with the Beast that had wrecked the parlor last night was too great. The Beast she saw in front of her now was nothing like that…

Beast decided to focus on the good thing: he had been spared the scolding, thanks to Belle. And there would be no worrying about the curse for a while. If she didn't like him, at least some of his worries could be brushed aside. He relaxed visibly and sighed deeply before he put his hands behind his head, staring at the fabric around the canopy frame.

But then a new worry crossed his mind. Although it seemed for the moment that _her_ feelings for him were in check, which was all to the good… What about _his_ feelings? Against his will, he was liking her more and more. The thought made him panic. How could he control his growing attraction to her? He thought quickly. Maybe if he could get her to act worse to him…

True, he didn't want a _mean _companion, but if she was a little less kind, he would not likely develop any feelings for her. And then he would be totally safe. No breaking the curse, at all! Now that was a good idea… If he could only urge her to be less kind…"It's not like you _have _to be nice here!" he tried to convince her. "You act much too kind. In here, you don't have to be polite or anything. You can drop all pretences. Be mean all you want! Be a little nastier!" He was getting more and more enthusiastic about the idea. "You don't have to act nice. I don't mind!"

Belle stared at Beast in utter confusion. Was he crazy? "But I don't _want _to be nasty!" she replied stubbornly. "I'm not _acting_! I don't want to be like you say at all… What's wrong with being kind? Can't people be nice by nature? _Why_ would I have to be nasty?! It makes no sense! And it makes no sense why you act the way you do either!"

Beast realized Belle was mad… or perhaps just confused. Beast didn't like it much.

Belle went on: "You're telling me to be nasty and mean, but why can't _you_ just try to be nice instead?"

The anger was fading from her voice – now she sounded quiet and hurt and vulnerable, and Beast was eaten by guilt. Maybe he shouldn't have told her to be nastier. She seemed to hate that idea. But for him to be _nice_… Deep down inside, part of him wanted to try it, to try to say the right words to her so she'd be happy again… but he found he couldn't. As much as he hated to be in this position, he could not show her too much kindness… even if she was beautiful and Beast longed for her kindness in return.

Belle sighed as she realized something and she folded her arms even firmer against her body, as though she was trying to fight back the shivers down her spine. "Why is it that everywhere I go, everyone always wants to _change_ me?"

Beast gulped at the unexpected bitterness in her voice. He wondered what she was talking about, but realized he knew her too little to even guess at an answer. "What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

Belle took a deep, unsteady inhale of air. "It's always like this… Somehow I'm always left to feel like _I_'_m_ the odd one. I don't get what's so _wrong_ with me…" Tears were streaming down Belle's face now as she stared blankly in front of her.

Beast instantly felt bad when he saw how upset she was and wished he could take back his words. He _hated_ tears. They made him uncomfortable. "Hush… Nothing's wrong with you… I… You don't have to change."

Belle shrugged and turned to him for a moment. "You don't really mean that…" she said darkly. "You're just saying that because you hate to see me cry."

Beast looked at her with his brow furrowed as she turned away from him again and hid her face in her hands. She was right though… He wouldn't have attempted to comfort her if she hadn't cried…He had actually _wanted _her to be mad at him! But he didn't want to see her like this! Careful not to hurt his own injured foot and tail, he slid to the side of the bed, closer to Belle until he was sitting beside her. Her shoulders shook and betrayed her crying. He touched her shoulder gently, but only for a moment. He withdrew his hand quickly, feeling like he would be unable to ever let go of her soft satin-like skin if he touched it for longer than a second.

Belle froze as she felt Beast touch her, if only in a flash. His hand had let go of her as suddenly as he had put it on her shoulder. She dried her tears and looked up at him. His eyes looked sad and worried, not angry or mean at all. There was remorse in them, Belle saw with wonder.

"I don't like it when people want to change me either," he told her quietly, afraid to unsettle her if he spoke any louder. "Not that it ever makes me cry… I just…" Beast shrugged for a moment, but Belle finished for him.

"…get mad." Belle looked at Beast and saw him nod in return. She turned her head away from him. "Everyone deals with things differently… Not that I _never_ get mad. It's… one of those emotions that are hardest to control. Before you even realize it, you say something hurtful or…" Belle hesitated as she looked at Beast for a moment before focusing on her own hands again. "…you _do _something hurtful. Even if you don't mean to… It's a vicious emotion." Belle sighed and suddenly turned to Beast with a worried expression on her face. "I'm sorry, I'm probably… just confusing you."

"No," he replied quietly. "No, you're not." Not only did it make sense what she said, but he recognized so much of himself in her words… It _was_ a vicious emotion and it _always_ got the better of him, whether he wanted to or not. No wonder people wanted to change _him_… But her? "You don't sound dangerous to me though… Why would anyone want to change _you_?"

"Not because I'm _dangerous_," Belle said with a small smile, feeling at ease talking to him about this. If anyone would know what it was like to be an outcast, it was him. "In the town where I come from…" Belle hesitated for a moment, but then just honestly blurted it out. "The people think I'm _odd_."

"Odd?" Beast repeated blankly, figuring that there were many ways to describe Belle, but _odd_ was not one of them. "You?"

Belle nodded quietly. She felt a little relieved that he looked a little surprised. That meant that _he_ hadn't thought of her as odd. Then again, he lived here much like a hermit, not like the villagers in town. Maybe they were_ both_ odd. "I know how it feels to be… different…" She glanced at Beast, noticing how closely he was listening and she felt, if only for a moment, connected to him. Afraid to make him uncomfortable, she turned her gaze away from him again and looked at her hands, unsure if she should say this, but still she felt like he would understand. "And I know how lonely that can be…"

Beast just stared at her as the impact of her words left him dazed. If he actually only could, he would embrace her, tell her that he had never met anyone who understood, admit that he would love to spend more time with her, say that they could be different together and that they wouldn't have to be lonely ever again, or that they could be lonely together… but that would all be a little bit too rushed. Instead, he slowly took her hand. His hands were gigantic compared to hers, but he didn't let that hold him back. When she looked at him, Beast felt a bit uneasy, but he plucked together all his courage to tell her anyway. "I am sorry for wanting to change you…" Beast looked at Belle for a moment, but wished he hadn't. Her sad little smile made his stomach do somersaults and he felt slightly nauseous.

"I'm sorry too," Belle said quietly as she looked at Beast's hand holding hers. For this moment, she felt safe again. She was not in the company of a dangerous Beast, but in the company of a kindred soul, someone very much like her. Smiling, she put her other hand on top of his and she quietly confessed. "I thought it was okay for me to want to change you… for me to demand of you to be nice all the time. But… you really don't need to be… Not _all_ the time… Just… once in every while, like you are now."

This relaxed Beast a little. He looked at her hopefully. "So I can just be… _myself_?"

Belle smiled warmly at him. "Yes. If I can be myself too!"

"Of course!" Beast quickly agreed, shaking her hand and he quickly let go of her, yet his smile remained. "We can both be ourselves!"

"Not worrying about other's opinions," Belle cut in, her sad expression turning happier too as she pressed her hands together excitedly. "No lies. No pretending. No holding back."

"No manners!" Beast grinned, suddenly gulping when he saw Belle's raised eyebrow. "Or maybe just a few…"

Belle laughed, finding it funny how her stern expression had caused him to take back his words so quickly. "No, it's alright," she grinned, excited by the idea. "We can just be who we always wanted to be."

"Not what others want us to be," Beast added, though his expression darkened all of a sudden.

Belle saw his change in mood and her expression sobered for a moment. What was he thinking about? She touched his shoulder softly, just for a moment and this caused him to look at her again. He sighed deeply before he explained.

"I think we forgot something: the servants… If they see me… _misbehaving_…" Beast blew out some air as he considered the consequences.

"Oh… right…" Belle frowned, realizing that she hadn't been thinking all too clearly either. Their plan could have been exciting to live out, if there had been no others to be concerned about. But with the servants around, Beast would be in for a scolding if he didn't act like a gentleman. "Well, they're not around now, are they?" Belle tried to cheer him up. "If they're around, you should be careful, but there's no need to be when they're not."

Beast nodded weakly. It was better than nothing.

"How about we head downstairs? It won't be too long before dinner!" Belle said cheerfully as she got up from the bed and took her cloak from the stool.

"But my leg…" Beast hesitated. He was still in pain. He didn't know if walking around was a smart idea.

"I'll help you," Belle said kindly, reaching out her hands so he could get up. "Or would you rather sit here and stare at your pretty rose all day?"

Beast gulped. She had mentioned the rose, but… she hadn't asked any questions about it. A good thing too! Perhaps it was best to leave the West Wing, to avoid more conversation about it.

"No, no, of course not!" Beast replied quickly as he took Belle's hands and got up. He felt a little dizzy from getting up so quickly and gratefully took the branch Belle offered him.

Belle smiled when she saw the branch proved to be useful. Beast leaned on it and limped besides Belle as they made their way over to the door. "Dinner, you said?"

Belle nodded with a smile on her face. "Yep."

"I wonder if it's lobster again," Beast joked, causing Belle to laugh.

"For your own sake, I hope it's not. In your current condition…" Belle inspected him from head to toe. "…you'd be going _down_…"

Beast grinned. "Don't make me hit you with my stick," he warned her as he opened the door. Belle stood quietly behind him and Beast turned to her as his hand held the door open. "After you."

Belle was a little surprised and she bent down a little as she slid underneath his arm that held open the door, smiling at him. "Such a gentleman," she teased. "Be careful not to make a habit out of that, Beast. One day I might not be able to recognize you anymore."

Beast grinned despite himself. But he couldn't help it: he liked her. Even though her comment could very well come true if he wasn't careful… Maybe one day, she _would_ not recognize him. But Beast forbade himself to think like that. Not now. That day would not be today. Surely, dinner with Belle was not going to change him back. And he was longing for some fun. After seven years of loneliness, it was hard to deny himself that.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ And the chapters keep on getting longer and longer… _

_This chapter took longer than usual. I've got plenty of excuses for that. One of those excuses is that I was sick in the first week, causing the writing to be… awkward. It wasn't very well-written and a bit too vague and Trudi, who beta'd this chapter for me, as she did with all the previous ones, noticed it too. So we used the second week to hammer some shape into it. Without her, you'd still be waiting for this chapter so thanks go to Trudi!_

_Other than that, I have been very distracted today by all the Avatar-related news! Many of you probably don't know Avatar, but I've been hyper and happy with all the Zutara-news that reached me from the New York Comic Con. This is a happy Zutarian! I just want to state that. Lol. Isn't it so that all Beauty and the Beast fans are Zutarians in essence? Doesn't Zuko, being the scar-given banished prince he is, have a lot in common with Beast? _

_Enough ranting about Avatar! There are fanforums for that! What did you think of the chapter? Review?_


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